Andorra Minister Touts Resident-Led Property Boom as Opposition Seeks Buyer Data

**Andorra Housing Minister Highlights Resident-Led Property Market as Opposition Demands Buyer Data**

Housing Minister Conxita Marsol reported that residents accounted for 75% of 2025 property transactions, roughly 4,000 out of almost 6,000 notary-recorded transfers, mainly people with over three years in Andorra. Speaking at the tenth Tàndem FP project event in Aixovall on Tuesday, she cited Monday's Statistics Department data from notary records as proof of the country's appeal and security, with buyers opting to settle there long-term. Marsol noted improved transparency on purchaser backgrounds and connected the trend to the government's first-home aid scheme, approved in November 2024. Of 13 approved applications awaiting funding, most involve residents seeking new apartments around €400,000. She placed this in broader initiatives to boost supply and affordability, including rentals and Òmnibus Law curbs on foreign developers.

Prices fell 6% overall for apartments, chalets, and commercial properties, despite an 8% apartment rise—less than Spain's 9.5% national increase or 16% in some regions. Marsol attributed pressures to global safe-haven interest but reiterated focus on locals, even as non-resident purchases doubled in volume and value last year.

On Thursday, Partit Socialdemòcrata leader Pere Baró intensified criticism of the Òmnibus Law and foreign investment tax, calling them failures that turned housing into a financial asset rather than a right. He submitted parliamentary questions to the government and Sindicatura seeking decade-long buyer details, including residency type, years in Andorra, age, parish, property category, and ownership counts, plus profiles of first-home aid recipients. Baró stressed distinguishing long-term workers from fiscal residents, arguing the tax generates revenue without deterring speculation, as non-resident buys continue rising in number and value.

Baró renewed calls for legislation regulating sales and rentals, featuring an operational property registry, price reference index, fiscal incentives for affordable rentals, higher taxes on large holders—around 10 properties—and clear small/large owner distinctions. He advocated penalties for high rents and rewards for reasonable ones, rejecting labels of "communism" and framing regulation as constitutional duty, with housing as a "sacred" need amid a "serious social crisis." Baró offered cross-party talks, including with the Housing Syndicate, to build consensus without seeking credit.