Madrid Real Estate Fair Opens as Eviction Fight Looms

The District, Spain's largest real estate fair, opens Tuesday in Madrid with support from regional president Isabel Díaz-Ayuso and opposition from housing activists. The event moved to Madrid after four years in Barcelona, where protests and paint attacks against investors overshadowed earlier editions. About 20,000 professionals and investors are expected to attend the fair at IFEMA, which organizers say will bring 40 million euros to the city. Díaz-Ayuso will officially open the event at 11 a.m., a contrast with Barcelona, where former mayor Ada Colau openly opposed the fair and current mayor Jaume Collboni did not attend recent editions. The fair arrives amid a housing crisis in Spain. Home prices in Madrid have risen 12%, forcing buyers to save up to four years of full salary for a down payment. Rents for apartments and rooms can exceed half of a worker's monthly pay. A 100-square-meter home in Madrid costs an average of 400,000 euros, while rent for a similar property averages 2,100 euros per month, according to Idealista. The Tenant Union has organized a counter-summit called El Barrio, running Thursday through Sunday, to promote housing as a universal right rather than a commodity. Spokesperson Elisa Molina said the fair shows "the privileges some companies have" and accused the government of "governing for these companies." She did not rule out protests or boycotts at the fair. The fair coincides with the scheduled Wednesday eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman who has lived in her Retiro district apartment since 1956. Her landlord, a real estate company, has not agreed to renew her lease or negotiate a new price. The Tenant Union has called an overnight campout to oppose the eviction, making her a symbol of Spain's housing struggle. The District president Juan Velayos told elDiario.es that "Madrid has a much more business-friendly approach" and "a better regulatory framework" than Barcelona. He said Madrid has more housing supply but acknowledged that "we have not managed to stabilize prices." Velayos defended the real estate sector against criticism, saying "telling capital it is to blame is a serious error, since capital is sensitive to these accessibility problems." He added that he expects "sufficient insurance protocols so that nothing happens" at the fair beyond respecting protesters' freedom of expression. The Spanish government and the Housing Ministry are not attending official events but are institutional partners, along with the European Commission. The word "affordability" will feature in five of Tuesday's conferences, with speakers including Helene Beunza, president of the Asval employers' association, and Ricardo Martí Fluxá, president of Neinor Homes. Housing advocates point to the growth of multi-property owners, who have quadrupled since the 2008 crisis and now control 60% of housing. The sector has increasingly promoted temporary rentals and high-end room rentals, known as flex living and coliving, at prices unaffordable for most residents, while regular housing supply shrinks.