How co-ownership is turning Spanish holiday homes into liquid investments

A new path for property Spain buyers

If you follow property Spain, one of the heaviest barriers for buyers of second homes has begun to crack. For decades a holiday home meant a large one-time outlay, ongoing bills and, often, years on the market when owners tried to sell. Co-ownership is changing that, and a Spanish company called Vivla is the clearest example of the shift.

The headline numbers are hard to ignore: secondary resale transactions completed in under four weeks on average in 2025, and average appreciation of 11% on those share resales. Those figures suggest holiday homes in Spain are moving from illiquid personal assets to something more like tradable investments. In this article we explain how the model works, what the data shows, where Vivla is expanding, and what buyers and investors should weigh before joining the trend.

How co-ownership changes the holiday home equation

The classic second-home model is simple and inflexible: one owner, all costs, all usage decisions, and a difficult exit when the owner wants to sell. Co-ownership slices these problems into smaller pieces.

Key features of the co-ownership model are:

• Shared equity: buyers acquire a stake in a property without buying the whole house. This lowers the entry cost and widens the buyer pool.
• Managed calendar and operations: a central operator handles cleaning, maintenance and bookings so owners avoid day-to-day headaches.
• Secondary market for shares: owners can sell their share rather than the whole property, which shortens the time to liquidity.

For the Spanish holiday home sector, these mechanics have several consequences. The entry threshold falls, making coastal and mountain destinations accessible to a broader set of buyers. Owners can monetise unused time via rentals or exchanges. And the final point matters for investors: an active internal resale market reduces the risk that you will be stuck holding an unwanted asset for an extended period.

I am skeptical of any model that promises easy returns, but the numbers Vivla reported for 2025 are concrete signs that this model can deliver greater liquidity than the typical holiday-home market has offered.

How Vivla’s model works in practice

Vivla operates a co-ownership platform for holiday homes across Spain. The company packages homes into shares and sells those shares to individual owners. Usage is divided—often by weeks—and the operator manages bookings and maintenance.

Two branded protections are central to the offer and to the company’s pitch to buyers and investors:

• Vivla Protection™: this solution offers a guaranteed buyback, coverage of certain expenses, and the option to change homes within the network. That structure reduces exit risk and some variable costs owners face.
• Vivla Autopilot™: owners who do not use their allocated weeks can have Vivla monetise those weeks through rental or exchange programmes, effectively turning unused time into cash or credits.

Those mechanisms are not marketing language only. They change the cashflow profile for owners. Instead of fixed outgoings and uncertain resale timing, owners get predictable occupancy and a managed path to be bought out or to cash in unused time. For investors concerned about hold-period risk and carrying costs, Vivla’s model is attractive because it aims to shorten the duration an owner must remain invested before finding an exit.

Evidence from 2025: liquidity, returns and engagement

The company’s 2025 performance is the best available proof point. Vivla reports:

• All secondary transactions completed in an average of less than four weeks.
• Average resale appreciation of 11% on those secondary transactions.
• Average occupancy of 80% across managed properties.
• More than 60% of co-owners have rented out or exchanged their shares.
• Turnover of €30 million in 2025 and over €100 million in assets under management.
• More than 20% of clients became investors in the company’s latest funding round.

What these figures mean in practice:

• Speed to liquidity: the sub-four-week average for resale of shares is transformative when compared with ordinary holiday-home sales where properties can sit on the market for months.
• Measurable upside: an 11% average gain on share resales is significant. It is not a guarantee of future returns, but it is a real-world outcome from the portfolio Vivla manages.
• High utilisation: 80% occupancy shows demand for the product. High occupancy supports income for owners who rent their weeks, and it makes the Autopilot model workable.

From my perspective, the most persuasive detail is the overlap between user behaviour and investor commitment. When more than 60% of co-owners monetise or exchange their weeks, that signals the model is being used as intended rather than sitting idle. That usage pattern helps maintain steady revenues for the operator and supports resale demand.

Expansion across Spain: where Vivla is going next

After proving the concept in markets such as Ibiza, Menorca, Baqueira, Cádiz, the Costa Blanca, the Costa de la Luz, Madrid and Cantabria, Vivla plans to broaden its footprint in 2026.

New projects are scheduled for:

• Asturias
• The Canary Islands
• The Costa del Sol
• Formigal
• Mallorca

The company aims to reach around 100 homes in its portfolio by the end of 2026. That scale matters because a larger, geographically diversified portfolio reduces single-market risk, smooths seasonal demand differences and creates more opportunities for owners who want to swap weeks or move to another location within the network.

For buyers and investors, expansion into the Costa del Sol and the Canary Islands is notable. Those areas have strong year-round demand and established markets for international buyers, which can help stabilise occupancy and rental income outside the summer months.

What this means for buyers and investors — practical insights

If you are considering holiday homes or real estate investment in Spain, co-ownership changes the calculus in several measurable ways.

Lower entry cost and diversification

• Buying a share reduces the cash required up front, so you can spread capital across multiple destinations rather than committing to a single asset.
• For investors, this is a way to diversify seasonal, regional and property-type risk without multiplying administrative burdens.

Predictable income and managed expenses

• With 80% occupancy across Vivla’s portfolio and over 60% of owners renting or exchanging weeks, co-ownership can produce steady short-term income that offsets maintenance and management charges.
• Vivla Protection™ covers some operating costs and guarantees a buyback option, which helps plan annual budgets.

Faster exit and price discovery

• The internal secondary market shortened selling time to under four weeks on average. That is crucial for investors who prize liquidity.
• Reported 11% average appreciation on share resales gives an empirical basis for calculating potential capital gains, though past performance is not a guarantee.

Operational simplicity

• A central management company handles bookings, maintenance and guest services. That appeals to international buyers or owners who do not want hands-on management.

Tax and legal considerations

• Co-ownership changes taxable events compared with full ownership. You should get local tax advice because rules vary by autonomous community, residency status and the way rental income is declared.
• We recommend consulting a Spanish tax advisor before purchase to understand VAT, non-resident income tax, and wealth tax exposure if relevant.

Practical checklist for prospective buyers

• Confirm how the share structure defines usage weeks and any blackout periods.
• Review the fee schedule for management, maintenance reserves and exit charges.
• Ask how the guaranteed buyback is financed and whether it is subject to conditions.
• Verify occupancy performance for the specific property you consider, not just the portfolio average.
• Check mortgage availability for fractional shares since lending options differ across lenders.

Risks and limits: what the numbers do not hide

Co-ownership reduces several classic risks, but it creates others and it does not eliminate exposure to broader property-market cycles.

Key risks to weigh:

• Market correlation: if housing prices in a region fall, the value of shares will follow local market dynamics.