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More than 103,000 homes across the Region of Murcia are classed as empty, according to figures from Spain's National Statistics Institute, INE.
That means around one in every eight homes in the region is not being used, at least according to the latest available data.
The figures are particularly interesting at a time when the availability and cost of housing has become a major issue across Spain. Property prices and rents have continued to rise, while many people are finding it increasingly difficult to find somewhere affordable to live.
So where are all these empty homes?
The answer is spread across the Region, although some municipalities stand out more than others.
Cartagena has the largest number by some distance, with 16,640 homes classified as unused out of a total housing stock of 125,253. That works out at 13.3%.
Murcia City comes next, with 15,310 empty homes. However, because the municipality has a much larger housing stock, those properties account for just 7% of the total.
San Javier is third, with 6,669 unused homes out of 41,372, giving it a rate of 16.1%. Lorca follows with 5,818 empty properties, or 13.7%, while Mazarrón has 4,824, equivalent to 15.3%.
Between them, these five municipalities account for 49,261 empty homes, almost half of the regional total.
Look at the figures another way, though, and the picture changes quite dramatically.
Smaller inland municipalities tend to have the highest proportion of empty homes. Ricote comes top, with 32.3% of its 1,620 homes classed as unused. Abanilla and Moratalla both record 28.7%, while Fuente Álamo has a rate of 27%.
Villanueva del Río Segura is also high at 26.2%, while Pliego and Albudeite record 23.2% and 28.1% respectively.
There is an important detail behind the figures. The INE data was published in April 2025 but is based on electricity consumption during 2020. It remains the latest available information, so the numbers don't necessarily show exactly what the situation looks like today.
The INE considers a property to be empty if it has no electricity supply contract or if its annual electricity consumption is less than the equivalent of 15 days of average household use.
That doesn't necessarily mean all of these properties are sitting completely empty. Some could be second homes or holiday properties that are only used for part of the year. A home with very low electricity consumption could be included in the INE's figures even if its owners return to it during the summer or for occasional visits.
And there is another set of figures to consider. Data from the Tax Agency previously put the number of homes without a regular occupant in Murcia at more than 200,000.
The two figures aren't directly comparable because they use different methods to identify unused properties.
What they do show, however, is that Murcia has a sizeable number of homes that aren't being used as people's main residences, at a time when finding somewhere to live is becoming a growing concern for many households.
Image: Archive
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