Until recently, it could be seen on Idealista an attractive ad for co-ownership for sale in Ibiza. It didn’t last long online the studio in Ses Figueretes, precisely in Passeig de ses Pitiüses. The apartment, already sold some time ago, has 36 square meters and access to common areas such as garage, terrace and more. The price was 168,000 euros for “2/8 of the property”, which translates into being able to use the apartment about 88 days a year; or 84,000 euros for 1/8 of the property, 44 days per year.
It should be noted that according to data from the latest Real Estate Index of Fotocasa, 7,020 euros is the cost per square meter in Ibiza, so that, in 2024, Vila is positioned at the top of the ranking of the most expensive locations in Spain to purchase housing. But returning to the price of co-ownership of the apartment we are talking about, and making a quick calculation, if you multiply the price that each owner would pay for the total, the price of the study is 672,000 euros. For 36 square meters. That is: square meter at more than 18,000 euros.
The company selling this co-ownership and other properties is Nomadu. Founded by Slovak entrepreneur Norbert Velk, it is based in Tenerife. On their website, when talking about what drives them, they give a key fact: “In Europe, more than 10 million vacation homes remain uninhabited for 11 months a year”. About this, they highlight “low costs” and “flexible uses”, and offer the interested party to be “the owner of a wonderful vacation home that you and your whole family will love: no worries about the whole house, no mortgages and no amortizations”.
In an interview with La Voz de Ibiza, Virginia Masárová, co-founder, delves into the advantages offered by co-ownership and, without dodging the question, explains the reason for the exorbitant price of the square meter.
What does it mean to have a co-ownership
Nomadu works entirely with co-ownership. To start with the most basic: what is the difference with timeshare or timeshare? And what are the differences and above all the security that gives a co-owner today access to an apartment in this way?
-It is a very good question because it is really the question we get asked the most. The difference is that in time-sharing you buy the right to use the property, that is, you buy time. In co-ownership you buy a part of the property. To sum it up, this is the difference: in time-sharing you buy time, in co-ownership you buy part of the property.
There are many differences, for example: in timeshare, you pay and while you pay you can use it. In co-ownership you pay, that is, you buy your fraction, you buy the part of the property and you will always be able to use it. You pay for it once and when you no longer want to use it, you do not lose your money as in timeshare. You can resell your fraction, even making a profit because the property has appreciated over time.
-In addition to selling, Nomadu also buys, right? What is the difference between selling a property in the usual way and selling it through you?
-Yes, exactly. The properties obviously always have to have a certain standard and if they meet that standard, we sell them in co-ownership. The benefit is that if someone wants to sell their house, they can sell it on the free market with X profit, a usual profit. If you sell it through us, we give you a percentage of the profits generated because we assume that this house has been an investment, that is, we have not had to acquire the house, but it has been given to us previously, and by not having to make that disbursement, the person who sells the house to us receives a higher percentage than if he sold it on the free market.
Co-ownership in Spain and Ibiza
-What is Nomadu’s reading of the current Spanish real estate market?
-Each market, and even each area, has its own peculiarities. That is why we cannot speak in general about all of Spain, but we can speak about the market in which we are operating, because that is where we are experts. So, within Europe, Spain is the number one place where most people want to buy a second or holiday home.
On the other hand, most of the people who want to buy, to invest in Spain, are people from the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy. Then, always depending on the area, some other country is added, but those are the trends we see of buyers in the Spanish market. Obviously there are also Spaniards from the peninsula, for example, from Madrid or Barcelona. Within Spain, I can’t tell you anything from the north, because we don’t sell.
What we have seen this year in particular, is an exaggerated boom in Ibiza, within the Balearic Islands, particularly in Ibiza. It has been a very special market. Today, we are selling a lot in the Balearic Islands and Costa del Sol, Tenerife too, but especially in summer, even in September and October, we have sold a lot in Ibiza.
-Do you have your own analysis of the reason for this boom?
-Customers who buy in Ibiza are also very different. The market is very peculiar, Ibiza is one of the most exclusive and most demanded places in the world. Many people dream of owning a property on the island, not only from Europe, but also from Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the United States…. But they are not buyers who are willing to buy a luxury property at the prices that Ibiza has. That is, if you want something that is more or less good, like one or two bedrooms, you are not going to find anything under half a million euros. So this is the perfect option for people who are not rich, who cannot afford a luxury home, like those in many developments that are under construction. Those are clearly not for everybody. Also, what we have seen is that the people who have bought are people who value comfort very highly. All the luxury homes we have, come fully managed, in short: they can be purchased at a fraction of the price, the person does not have to take care of anything, they arrive, enjoy and that’s it, if they need anything they can hire everything separately, we fill the fridge, if they are families with children they can hire a babysitter. They are families who want to be in a first class destination, with all the comfort included. They value the ease and privacy of your luxury vacation home, which is still their own home. Thus, you add the comfort of your own home and without the worry of managing a lot of things from a distance, in addition.
So, for example, if a pipe breaks and you are not there, you don’t have to fly to Ibiza for repairs. We take care of that too.
-The problem of squatters is also solved, this possibility is eliminated.
-Yes, it is a very big problem throughout Spain.
Pricing and benefits
Why does the price per square meter in co-ownership go up so much, considering that in Ibiza it is already expensive?
-This happens because of different things. One is that when we see new properties on Idealista, that is the raw price. The price to which everything still needs to be added: VAT, or if it is a property that is not new, transfer taxes and so on. Then, it is necessary to calculate all the real estate and decoration, which is not included in the price either. We work with high-end real estate design studios. They are luxury properties with luxury furnishings, luxury design. And then there are our fees, which are obviously the salaries of the workers, the marketing costs, all the time we have to invest in talking to the clients, all the operational part behind the co-ownership business.
When you buy part of the co-ownership, you are not just buying a fraction of it, it is very important to keep in mind that you are buying a product. The product has a higher price. You are an owner and besides you have a lot of extra services such as exchanging your weeks in high season with other weeks with other properties. Another thing that is also included is that each person is assigned a contact person, like a guest manager, who manages all your personal needs before, during and after your stay.
Also the guarantee that we offer you, a liquidity guarantee that within the first five years or within a certain period of time, we will return the price of the fraction that you bought, if you do not want to wait to sell your fraction in the free market.
-How does that work exactly?
-If you have a property or a fraction and you want to resell it, you want benefits, you can resell it in the market, that is, you wait two, three, or a year until it sells. However, if you need money on a daily basis, we buy your fraction, Nomadu as a company, at the price you bought it minus a commission. This is a liquidity guarantee that is also part of the product you are buying.
In addition, some co-ownerships can also be rented.
-The days that the person does not use the property can be rented. Each eighth part gives the right to use the property for 44 days. If you have two fractions, 88 days. If a person does not want to use all those days, for whatever reason, it can be rented. You can’t rent through Booking or Airbnb, first because you don’t have a tourist license, second to ensure that the other co-owners don’t incur any risk in case something breaks or whatever. So yes, you can rent it, but through us or our network of partners.
This generated income can be used, for example, to cover monthly and annual expenses.
To close, a simpler question: suppose I buy a co-ownership today and in a few years I say, “well, I’m bored with the decoration and I want to change everything”, how is it managed among the co-owners?
-It is decided by majority vote. There are always eight co-owners, a person can have up to a maximum of four fractions, then, if a person has two fractions, it counts as two co-owners. If more than four agree, then these changes are made.
