House swapping, a housing solution
Citizens are mobilizing with various initiatives in response to the lack of alternatives from the Administration, which is focusing its efforts on pushing through Ibavi developments.
CitadelOnly about twenty of the 139 apartments in Menorca advertised on the Idealista portal are for residential rental. The lowest price is 960 euros per month. This amount is beyond the reach of most people, leading many separated individuals to move back in with their parents and younger people to delay leaving home. Access to housing has become virtually impossible for the resident population, with the government at all levels unable to provide a solution. With the People's Party (PP) having ruled out declaring the real estate market under pressure and intervening in prices, the most visible public efforts are focused on advancing Ibavi (Balearic Housing Institute) projects to guarantee decent housing for the poorest sectors of society. Currently, more than one hundred apartments are under construction, distributed across developments in five municipalities on the island. The Menorca Island Council has also allocated 1.5 million euros in the 2026 budget to acquire land to promote new social housing projects. The PSOE, from the opposition, had requested an allocation of 10 million euros. Amidst all this, island society is mobilizing with different initiatives to demand solutions and propose them independently of institutions and the political class. Every morning, a few activists from the Platform for Dignified Housing demonstrate at the doors of the Island Council headquarters in Mahón to demand that the State expand social safety net measures regarding housing to address the housing emergency. Otherwise, they say, rising prices, unaffordable rents, and the almost nonexistent supply make the situation untenable.
"There are some truly heartbreaking cases," explains Julia, one of the platform's activists. "We have an immigrant family with four children who have been living in an apartment for 10 years, and now the landlord wants to evict them. They've offered to raise the rent and pay more, but even then he won't renew their lease. They're desperate," she explains.
The platform aims to support all vulnerable individuals and families who are homeless or facing eviction. Every week, it holds a meeting in Alaior where, Julia says, "it becomes clear that housing is a problem that affects everyone. Contracts are ending, landlords are drastically raising rents or converting properties to tourist rentals," she warns. So, through volunteers, they offer those affected all kinds of advice, including legal support, to help them take the necessary steps. "At least this way they learn about their rights and get a better understanding of the situation. Many don't even know what Ibavi is," she states.
In recent months, the platform has assisted some of the 56 families affected by the imminent auction of an inhabited property in Alaior and has lobbied the City Council to try to ensure that Sareb participates in the bidding and, if awarded the property, respects current contracts.
Citizen initiatives have also emerged in the real estate market. According to the Ministry, housing prices have skyrocketed this year, reaching €3,498 per square meter in Ciutadella and €3,159 in Maó, their all-time high. Speculation and the commissions charged by real estate agencies further increase the final cost for buyers.
A property swap portal
To facilitate the operation, Gabriel Aznar has created the website Move.houseWith three decades of experience in the sector, Aznar has revived a model that gained considerable momentum after the 2008 crisis: house swapping. Through this exchange portal, he tries to find two homeowners interested in exchanging properties, saving them a portion of the commissions typically charged by real estate agencies. One of the beneficiaries is Antoni Barber, who contacted Aznar to find a house for his parents that he can exchange for their current one, a ground-floor apartment with a 100-square-meter garden plot that is no longer useful to them. Like him, about ten homeowners in Menorca have already successfully completed an exchange. "This model, launched by the Basque Housing Institute, allowed us to acquire 200 properties in Menorca, but it ended in 2011 when banks raised mortgage rates so much that it became unsustainable. Now, however, the circumstances are favorable again," says Aznar.
The businessman, who despite now focusing on the nautical sector still maintains a foothold in real estate, starts from the premise that "many people who sell do so with the expectation of buying something better or that better suits their current circumstances." This is the objective of 'Muevete.house': "that people who have this need know where to go and can find the house they want before parting with the one they currently own."
The key, Aznar points out, is for the number of homes registered on the platform to grow and, above all, for "everyone to be able to find the house they want, because need often matters more than price." However, the market has become more expensive "and prices have inflated so absurdly that the supply has decreased and many people can't find what they're looking for," he adds.
In this sense, Muevete aims to be "a meeting point," where the most expensive house is exchanged for the cheapest, plus an additional sum of money "that equalizes their values and satisfies all parties." This way, "there aren't two sales, but only one, and only one commission is paid, instead of the two that any real estate agency would charge." This is the main reason, he explains, why exchanges aren't a very common model in the market, "because real estate agencies aren't interested."
Gabriel Aznar says that, beyond the business aspect, he's also driven by "the personal satisfaction of helping people in situations that are often extreme. Everyone should find what they're looking for, but without speculation and paying the fair price."
