Investment approach
Selling a Building by Apartment or as a Block: Choosing the Exit
A block sale beats retail if the discount to the sum of apartment prices stays below a threshold of 1–11%. It depends on sales pace, the real retail price and the buyer's tax: IVA 10% or ITP 20%.
Selling a building by apartment or as a whole comes down to one figure: what discount to the sum of apartment prices can be given for a quick exit to a single buyer. In the worked example below the threshold lies between 1% and 11% and depends on the sales pace, the retail price and the tax the buyer pays. The rules were checked as of 12 October 2026.
What discount can be given for a block sale
The break-even discount is the discount to the sum of apartment prices at which the net result of the block equals the result of retail. From retail, deduct the selling costs and the cost of capital for all the months of selling; from the block, the transaction costs and the cost of capital for the months until closing.
Worked example, not a forecast. The building is ready for exit, 18 M€ has been invested, and the sum of the prices of 24 apartments individually is 24 M€ excluding IVA (Spanish VAT). Cost of capital 8% a year (an assumed parameter), retail selling costs 3.5%, block costs 1.5%, the block closes in 6 months. The cells show the block's break-even discount, %.
| Sales per month | Retail at 100% of the estimated price | At 97% | At 94% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.3 | 8.3 | 11.2 |
| 1.5 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 9.2 |
| 2 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 8.2 |
| 3 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 7.1 |
If apartments sell at two a month with a 3% concession, the block beats retail at a discount of up to 5.2%. A block with a discount larger than the figure in the cell loses to retail, with a smaller one it wins. The result depends more strongly on the real retail price than on the pace: a 6% concession shifts the threshold by about six points.
What the buyer pays: IVA 10% or ITP 20%
The buyer's tax depends on how the works ended, and it moves the buyer's offer more than any discount.
If the works meet the definition of rehabilitación (rehabilitation) in art. 20.Uno.22.B Ley 37/1992, the first sale of the building after them bears IVA at 10% (art. 91.Uno.1.7º). The definition: more than half the project cost goes on structure, façades, roof or similar works, and the cost of the works exceeds 25% of the building's purchase price (if it was bought within two years before the works started, otherwise its market value), in both cases excluding the land share. AJD (stamp duty on legal documents) of 1.5% is added to the notarial deed (ATC).
If the definition is not met, the sale counts as a second supply and is exempt from IVA, and the buyer pays ITP (property transfer tax). When one buyer takes the building, the rate is 20% (ATC). A sale also stops being a first sale if the building was used for two years or more after the works, including being let (art. 20.Uno.22.A).
Worked example, a block for 20 M€, the whole building residential (the ATC applies 20% only to the residential part): ITP at 20% gives 4 M€, IVA at 10% plus AJD at 1.5% give 2.3 M€. The difference of 1.7 M€ (8.5% of the price) will come out of the buyer's offer. There is a second side. The seller recovers IVA at 10% on the works (600,000 € on a budget of 6 M€) only if the sale bears IVA: an exempt supply gives no right of deduction (art. 94.Uno.1). The regime is determined by the works project, so it is established before the works start, not before the sale. This is a question for an asesor fiscal (tax adviser). RDL 29/2026 (art. 7, from 1.12.2026, not validated) introduces 4% IVA on the purchase of housing by a company that lets it under the regime of art. 48–49 Ley 27/2014; this is not included in the calculation.
What tanteo changes in a sale by apartment
A legal entity with five or more apartments in Barcelona is a gran tenedor (large holder) (resolution of 14.03.2024, reflecting TER/800/2024). If it is entered in the Registre de grans tenidors, the Generalitat can intercept the sale of any of its apartments in a stressed-market zone through tanteo and retracto (rights of first refusal and buy-back) (Llei 11/2025, art. 6). The exception: sales of new apartments and of apartments after gran rehabilitación (major renovation) within a year of the cédula de habitabilidad being issued.
The Administración's answer takes up to two months, plus 15 days if it inspects the apartment (Generalitat). For retail this means: after the first year, sales fall under the right for as long as five or more apartments remain in ownership, and each gets a pause of up to two and a half months. A cédula is needed for each apartment on sale (Decret 141/2012, art. 9.2), and the issuing period under the text of the decree is 30 working days. Whether tanteo affects the sale of a building under a single contract is not stated directly in the text of the law. That is a question for an abogado (lawyer), as in the article on buying a building.
Order of decision
- Put your own cost of capital, pace and retail price into the table.
- Before the works start, establish whether the project will meet the definition of rehabilitación: the IVA on the works and the buyer's tax depend on it.
- Put the year after the cédula in the calendar and count how many apartments can sell without tanteo.
- Request two or three indicative block offers in advance, so that the discount does not remain a hypothesis. Preparation is described in the sale readiness checklist.
- Consider a mix: some apartments at retail in the first year, the rest as a block.
Who this choice does not suit
Retail does not suit you if tenants remain in the building: the buyer of an apartment takes on the existing contract (art. 14 LAU), more in the article on a building with tenants. A block does not suit you if there are no buyers nearby willing to pay close to the sum of the apartments: then the discount from the table exceeds the threshold. The buyers are described in the article on exiting the project.
DNPI Capital has no completed projects involving whole buildings. The completed ones are the plot in Sitges and the apartment on Compte de Urgel, so what is described here is a method, not a result.
Next step: run both branches on your own numbers in the investor calculator.
Questions and answers
Which is better: selling apartments one by one or the whole building?
It depends on the block discount and the real retail pace. In the worked example the block beats retail at a discount up to a threshold of 1% to 11%, depending on the pace and the retail price.
What tax does the buyer of a whole building pay?
After rehabilitación under art. 20.Uno.22.B, IVA at 10% and AJD at 1.5%. Otherwise ITP, and 20% if one buyer takes the building (ATC).
Can the Generalitat buy an apartment out at the sale?
Yes, if the seller is a legal entity that is a gran tenedor in the Registre de grans tenidors and the apartment is in a stressed-market zone. The exception: a new apartment, or one after gran rehabilitación, in the first year after the cédula. The Administración has up to two months to answer.
Is a cédula needed to sell each apartment?
Yes, a cédula is needed when housing is transferred (Decret 141/2012, art. 9.2). The buyer of second-hand housing that will be renovated may release the seller from handing it over (art. 10): a technician's report is needed for a renovation, and a municipal certificate for demolition.
