Village for sale in Pontevedra and Gwyneth Paltrow (Credit: Aldeas Abandonadas, Getty)
Entire villages are hitting the market in Spain and actress-turned-wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow wants you to buy one.
Prices vary, but some can be had for much less than typical asking prices for homes in the United States. They can be bought through the website Aldeas Abandonadas (Abandoned Villages), which lists old towns and resort villages for sale in the country. One village near Lugo is listed for $190,000, according to House Beautiful.
The village-buying trend is becoming more popular, or at least the idea of it is getting more popular. Paltrow’s company Goop included the village in Lugo in its latest “ridiculous” holiday buying guide.
Some other towns on the site are asking millions of dollars, but others can be found for less than a million dollars. An 11-building resort town with updated lodgings is asking around $828,000 on Aldeas Abandonadas.
There’s cheap real estate available elsewhere in Europe, thanks to economic forces driving many young people out of small towns and into urban areas. Several towns in Italy are selling neglected homes for as little as €1 to attract residents who can revitalize their towns. Such programs are called “Casa a Un Euro.”
There are towns for sale in the United States too. The vacation town of Story, Indiana hit the market last month asking $3.8 million. The owner, Rick Hofstetter, turned the once-rundown pioneer town into a thriving vacation destination. [House Beautiful] – Dennis Lynch