If you’re from a major country with a competitive real estate market, chances are you’re used to accessing a handful, or maybe even a single online portal where nearly all of the current real-estate stock is listed. Finding Andorran property for sale is a little trickier.

In this article we’ll run you through:

  • the challenges you will likely face when looking for property to buy in Andorra,
  • the best way to find potential properties,
  • the best Andorran property website portals to check, and
  • using real estate agents to find what you really want.

Challenges of Finding Properties for Sale in Andorra

To start, in a tiny country with an under supply of property, there’s an oversupply of agents. If property agents in Andorra only listed their own stock, their windows (and websites) would be bare.

Instead, many real estate agents will “re-list” properties of other agents on their own website, often with a 10% price cut to drum up some interest. When you call to inquire, they’ll scramble to figure out who they “borrowed” that listing from.

Most often the property has sold, or, surprise surprise the owner doesn’t want to take a 10% haircut and is disinterested.

In many cases the owner cannot be found as one agent has re-listed the property from a re-listed listing 5 times over, all with different prices, few of which represent an amount of money the seller is looking for.

The Simplest, Most Complicated Solution

So where can you find property for sale in Andorra? The simple answer is to find an agent you can trust to help you in your search for the exact property you want.

Simple advice to give, but often difficult in practice. Many new Andorran residents have been amazed at “how difficult it is to buy a quality property here”.

Some agents have been known to try and sell newcomers properties that have been listed for sale for a long time.

Usually this is due to the price either being out of step with Andorra’s property market, simply being the wrong property type, or being unfavourable due to location, lack of sunlight or overall condition, or a combination of many of these factors.

When the buyer pushes back and suggests other properties, it’s not uncommon for Andorran property agents to be unaware of these properties listed for sale.

So if you’re looking to find the best property you can get, at a reasonable price in Andorra, at least some of the work will be yours to do.

Where to Look

There are 3 main online property portals to check for listings that, in theory should have all of the properties in the country. We use the word in theory because in practice they will display around 75% of Andorran properties for sale at best.

Below we’ll look at where you can find properties for sale in Andorra with relative ease. In each example we mention the percentage of the market it covers.

Please be aware, these numbers change regularly and there’s some guesswork involved. As a portion of the Andorran property market changes hands via private sale, no one person really knows how many properties are for sale at any one time!

Busco Casa

https://www.buscocasa.ad
Amount of market covered: 70%

Busco Casa is an Andorran-run listing site. It’s generally difficult to either search with some form of accuracy or filter results.

Despite being a difficult to use interface, most agents in the country seem to use the site, so it can be useful for finding new agents as there seem to be new ones opening every day.

Busco Casa tends to have the highest number of out-of-date listings.

Habitaclia

https://www.habitaclia.com
Amount of market covered: 50%

Dominating Catalunya, Habitaclia tried to spread it’s wings into Spain with limited success. Today, it predominantly lists properties in Catalunya, the Balearic Islands and Andorra.

Immediately you’ll find the site much more pleasant to use than Busco Casa. Somehow they’ve managed to get higher quality photos from Andorran property agents, which helps to save plenty of time.

Do keep in mind the agent advertising the property may not be the one with the listing. If you dig deep enough you’ll usually find the same property on Habitaclia 2-3 times, each with different pricing.

Idealista

https://www.idealista.com
Amount of market covered: 40%

You could easily be mistake Idealista for Habitaclia the site looks so similar. The good news is, it’s because it’s very easy to use and the property listings usually have good quality photos.

Idealista has it’s focus throughout Spain, which is great for looking for properties elsewhere, but unfortunately means it has the least listings of the 3 websites.

The good news is, Idealista does tend to keep it’s listings up to date.

Individual Agents

Regularly checking the websites of individual agents may be the better way to find out about newly listed properties being listed on the market, but even this has it’s challenges.

Some agents are very slow to add new properties, or have lists of buyers waiting to purchase who get the first chance.

You will also find that agents tend to have areas of the country that they focus on servicing. An agent selling properties in Andorra la Vella is unlikely to also list properties in La Massana, just as one in Sant Julià de Lòria will rarely list a property in Ordino.

The answer here is really to be on their buying list well before the good properties come up for sale. The catch is, you may need to be on a good few lists before finding the right property.

Buyers Agent

Most expats who move to Andorra will use a local representative to handle their government paperwork, taking care of company formation, residency applications, and usually helping them to settle into the country.

More often than not they have their hand in real estate too.

Often they will have a connection with a buyers agent such as myself who stays aware of different deals on the market and can connect you to them. This is often where the best deals lie, though they can be few and far between.

Finding Your Property in Andorra

It can take time, and there will be hassles, but the end result will be worth it. More and more people are choosing to live in Andorra for a reason; it’s a remarkable place.

Keep an eye on the property portal sites, introduce yourself with local agents like myself and let them know you are interested to buy. Before long you’ll find the right property in the best place (for you).

Of course, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. I’m more than happy to help.

Feature Image: Shachar Geva, Encamp1, CC BY-SA 3.0