Anton Sorokko

Dear clients and friends,

Today, the new Law on Tourist Use of Housing in the Canary Islands will be published. As expected, many of you have contacted me with concerns about the future of the real estate market in southern Tenerife, especially regarding price developments.

Will prices drop?

After nearly two decades in the real estate sector and having experienced various market cycles, I want to share my forecast: prices of correctly valued properties will NOT drop. But there WILL be a correction for overvalued properties. Let me explain why:

1. Money loses its purchasing power. The value of money decreases year after year. 1 million euros now is not 1 million euros from 2024. This is a fundamental economic fact that many forget when anticipating price drops.

2. Construction costs continue to rise. Construction prices continue to increase, driven by rising material costs, labor costs, and the shortage of qualified personnel. Now building a new home is more expensive than buying a used one.

3. Scarce land supply. South of Tenerife remains an island with limited urban land. The supply of buildable land does not increase, while demand remains strong and prices per m² of urban land have doubled.

4. We WILL see a correction in artificially inflated prices.
Currently, there are many properties overvalued by 20. This “artificial” markup was generated more by owners’ wishes than by market reality. So, there will be a 15-20 price correction, which is necessary and healthy and will separate the wheat from the chaff. For example, a studio in Borinquen in Las Americas now offered for €240,000 will return to costing €190,000 (which is its real price). A villa in El Madronal advertised for €3,000,000 will cost €2,400,000 (which is its real price).

Will sales drop?

Certainly, south of Tenerife will lose its appeal as “a vacation investment.” But the approval of the new law does NOT mean that sales will drop. Let me explain: The concept of “vacation rental investment” in Tenerife is relatively new. It didn’t exist about 6-7 years ago. What did we, estate agents, do before 2017-2018? We never sold “pure and solid investment.” We sold “a house for your family vacations,” “a place under the sun” where the weather is always good, “an option to park your money “ - a tangible way to preserve wealth. The new law simply returns us to that model. We need to change our mindset and narrative. Tenerife’s sun will continue to shine, the beaches will remain magnificent, and the quality of life will continue to attract buyers.

Despite the uncertainty in the first part of the year caused by the new Law, sales have shown only a slight decrease. I attach the PDF with official sales data from the Ministry of Development in the 5 municipalities where Asten Realty® operates.

Lessons from other markets in Spain.

We have seen similar situations in other Spanish destinations that give us valuable clues:

Barcelona implemented severe restrictions on vacation rentals since 2016 and announced the total elimination of tourist licenses by 2028. Result? Real estate prices did not collapse. In fact, the market adapted: many owners simply switched to long-term rentals or seasonal rentals, and buyers kept coming attracted by the city itself.

Mallorca suspended new vacation licenses in 2022. Properties WITH existing licenses significantly increased in value, becoming a scarce asset. And most revealing: the general real estate market remained firm because demand for second homes and primary residences does not depend on rentals.

In both cases, the lesson was clear: restrictions on vacation rentals did not bring down real estate markets because property demand has multiple motivations, not just profitability from tourist rentals.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re thinking of buying: This could be a good time. Inflated prices will correct, but real prices will hold. Look for correctly valued properties and think long-term. If you’re an owner: Don’t panic. Your property remains a valuable asset in a prime location. If you had a vacation license and were thinking about tourist rentals, consider other options: long-term rental, personal use, or simply maintaining it as a wealth investment. If you’re selling: Be realistic with the price. The market will reward correctly valued properties and harshly penalize overvalued ones.

Conclusion.

This Housing Law represents a change, not a catastrophe. Markets adapt, we professionals adapt, and south Tenerife will continue to be one of Europe’s most desired destinations. People will continue to buy in Tenerife for the sun, for the lifestyle, for the security, for the international community, and yes, also as a way to preserve wealth against inflation.

As always, myself and the 41 real estate experts at Asten Realty® are at your disposal to analyze any particular situation and help you make the best decisions for your interests.

Kind regards, Anton Sorokko

It is an enormous honor and a pleasure to receive the International Property Award as the best estate agents in the Canary Islands. We received our first award in 2019, repeated it in 2022 and this is the 3rd time when the judges announced “and the winner is Asten Realty” at The London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square in Mayfair. Congratulations to our team, none of this would be possible without you! And big thanks to all our clients and collaborators for their trust and loyalty throughout all these 12 years!

What a year it was! 164 closed sales in 2024 = 328 happy families who bought & sold their properties! The best of the best this year are:

Valeria - No.1 Top Producer 2024, as well as No.1 in Transactions 2024! Diana - No.2 Top Producer 2024, as well as No.1 in New Listings 2024! Rohit Raul - No.3 Top Producer 2024, as well as Breakthrough of the year 2024!

Rajaa - Rookie (best new agent) of the year 2024! Maria Jesus - Coordinator of the year 2024! Nicole - Initiative of the year 2024!

Our people - our pride! It’s an honor to have you on Asten Team! Big thanks to all the team for their spectacular work, and big thanks to our clients for their trust & loyalty! It’s a privilege to serve you!

{.”1886” .[] lang=”1886”}1888{.”1890” .[] lang=”1890”}1892{.”1894” .[] lang=”1894”}1896{.”1898” .[] lang=”1898”}1900{.”1902” .[] lang=”1902”}1904Asten Christmas party 2023 in Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque - a member of Leading hotels of the world for a member of Leading real estate companies of the world! Fantastic soirée with fun, games, toasts & prizes!

Very special “10 years in Asten” prizes to my dear colleagues & friends Artem Popov & Victor Valverde! The pioneers of Asten, you were with me from the very beginning of the company! As Victor said in his toast, “We’ve spent 1/5 of our lives in this company” - and this is the kind of relationship that we mean when we say it’s Asten family.

The coordinator of the year - Anastasia Rodionova! The growth of the year - Natalia Shuler! The rookie of the year - Diana Aitchison! Congratulations from all our team!

Asten is the best example of “the whole that is bigger than the sum of its parts”! I am proud to lead this team of 47 talents! I am privileged that you share your journeys with me!

#asten #astenrealty #AstenTeam #thebestplacetowork

On this day, October 10th, 10 years ago, Asten Realty officially stepped on the accelerator. What started as a small project with 5 people has grown 10 times, becoming a multinational team known and respected all over Tenerife.

I am proud of this company!

1) Asten Realty has created and continues to create employment for many people. It is an honour but also a lot of responsibility, because behind all of you there are your families that number about 200 people!

2) Asten Realty has contributed and continues to contribute to society. Our success is not only about profit and growth, but also about positive impact. We make the world a little better with our work - over the years we have made more than 2,000 clients happy!

3) Asten Realty is a hallmark of quality. In 2013 we launched with the belief that if we focused on clients, on providing guarantees, on making buying and selling an easy and stress-free process, we could build a company that would stand the test of time. Today, that belief is at the core of everything we do.

I’m proud of our team!

A proverb says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others”. Asten Realty would not be Asten Realty without this fabulous team! I continue to be amazed and humbled by the support, dedication and loyalty of all of you - it is a privilege to lead this team! The impressive results are not a fluke when - it is the hard work and effort of our team that I see on a daily basis. To each and every one of you I say: thank you.

Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to our customers and partners!

Your trust is the fuel of Asten Realty. More than 2,000 happy families; it is an inspiration that makes us do our best. Our promise is to remain committed to providing you with excellence and value to create your perfect real estate experiences.

According to statistics, 50% of new businesses do not make it to their 5th anniversary. Of the half that do, another 60% die before celebrating their 10th anniversary. In other words, out of 10 new companies, there are only 2 left in 10 years. Asten Realty is one of these few companies and we are just getting started! Together, we will continue to invent, create and build a future that is even more extraordinary than our past. Happy 10th anniversary, Asten Realty, here’s to the next 10 years and beyond!

Your biggest fan, Anton Sorokko

Happy birthday Asten Realty! You all know about our tradition to travel to a town with same name as our company on the day of its birthday - 10th of October. This year, the town of Asten… in Germany, turned out to be a peaceful village with 500 people, 1 church (very beautiful inside), 1 kindergarten and 1 restaurant with breathtaking panoramic view of the valley and beautiful mountains behind the German - Austrian border. We were only 8 of our big Asten team, so we could easily fit in two cars to drive here from Munich that lies 65 km away. The weather was lovely, the golden autumn was getting in its splendour, our emotions were high.

After climbing up the “Asten” road signs, scaring local drivers, and taking about 300 pictures, we sat at a wooden table outside the restaurant to have a light lunch. It is our 3rd town of Asten that we visit, but it still amazes me when I see the word “Asten” around. It was printed on the menu, it was engraved on our beer mugs, it was proudly designed into a shield of a local hunting club. Even the Asten cemetery had a sign on the the entrance, and we found a tomb of a baker from 1871 whose name was Anton - I am not the only Anton from Asten.

No wonder that when we got to Salzburg we went straight to “Retro photo studio”, dressed like 1922 and made a corporate photo of our company 100 years ago. Salzburg is already in Austria, but is only 35 km from Asten. We spent the night there and enjoyed the celebration dinner in a Michelin star restaurant. Man, food is so good in this area.

We toasted to Asten Realty, we missed the rest of our team who could not make it with us, we thanked our clients who have been with us on this journey for 9 years. The journey that… has just begun. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary next year. Let’s open a map and look for another Asten!

[It has been an honor and a great pleasure to be interviewed by Carlos Rentalo and MobiliaCRM. Thanks for the invitation!](<iframe width="740" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/byovnTyOqoQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen> </iframe>)

Asten goes to Asten - a small town with the same name! In 2019 our team went to Asten in Holland. This year it is a town in… Austria! We think there is no better way to celebrate the company’s 8th anniversary!! Asten is some 160 km from Vienna, so we spent the first day in the capital to visit the legendary Landtmann Cafe, taste some Sacher Tart, visit the Modigliani collection in Albertina museum and have the company melas at Michelin restaurants!

Unlike Asten in Holland, the Austrian Asten turns out to be a small town outside Linz that one can cross in 3 minutes by car. But a very nice and clean place with a dozen restaurants and a couple of guest houses. It’s hard to find words to express the emotions we feel in a place where the word “Asten” is as common as the words “water” or “bread”. Where people are born with the word “Asten” and where it is part of the daily life of so many people! The “Asten” sign at the entrance to the village make my heart skip the beat. The names of the local companies with so many “Asten” in the windows are pure adrenaline. There is even an Asten church in this place!…

These 3 days have been a fantastic getaway and the company was unbeatable! For the entire team, these emblematic trips guarantee an unforgettable experience in an aesthetic, gastronomic and, of course, emotional sense. I don’t remember when was the last time we laughed so much, and your toasts at dinners will stay with me for many years! Let’s hope that next year all of us can make it to Asten in… Germany!

{.”1598” .[] lang=”1598”}1600{.”1602” .[] lang=”1602”}1604Asten Realty is 8 years old today. Is it a lot or little? On the scale of large companies that are 30, 50 or 100 years old, with whose name generations are born and die, this is not much. But on the scale of the life of a human being, 8 years are 2.920 days. That is, almost three thousand days of hard work: selflearning and selfdeveloping, building a team, creating work processes, selecting the right people for key positions, teaching others, motivating, coaching where you can, fighting for clients, technological innovation and a hundred other small things which in the end are of a great importance. And most importantly, these are 2920 days of decisions and choices. As Deepak Chopra wrote, “Whether you like it or not, everything that happens with you at the moment is the result of choices and decisions you have made in the past.” Judging by the fact that Asten Realty is growing, developing, becoming bigger and better, that it is well known, respected and loved, these choices and decisions were correct. But one person is nothing. Thanks to all my team - those who have made and continue to make these choices with me over the years. Thanks to our clients! Thanks to our partners! There is a lot of work to do ahead, so keep on to new big anniversaries!

The success formula of your business in 2020 = minimize expenses + maximize activity.

Let’s analyze the situation. The economic crisis is a cycle that repeats itself every 10 years. Big capital is always prepared for a new crisis and accumulates a lot of money to change the market the way it needs. During the last year the “golden billion” has been waiting for any minimal excuse to be able to activate its plan.

The perfect context has become COVID-19 + the oil prices drop that lead to the devaluation of local currencies in countries like Russia + the collapse of the stock markets around the world. A 15 days quarantine without any economic activity, multiplied to a global scale by almost all countries and the possible closure of borders, will have both economic and sociological consequences. For some reasons the Spanish government declared the mobilization of the army. Please find enclosed the graph of the American “great depression” that coincides with the March 2020 situation.

What is the best way to prepare for such an uncertain future? Well, to cut the expenses to a minimum and increase the activity to the maximum. At Asten Realty we are taking the following measures:

• We are going to close one of our offices: the one in Las Americas, that is the most expensive, and that cost us 6,000 euros a month in rent. By a coincidence this coming Sunday, the 15ht of March is the end date of our 5-year rental agreement for this office. We have made a decision NOT to renew the rental contract. From now on, all our operations will be moved and executed from our Terrazas del Duque office in Costa Adeje.
• The closing of the Las Americas office leads to the departure of one of our coordinators. We have had a previous meeting with her, have explained everything and arrived to a very friendly solution. So no human harm have been done. With these measures alone, we will cut a third of our monthly operating expenses. The best decision is the one made at the right moment.

To maximize activity:

• We launch a new CRM - the most powerful program available on the market. We contracted it in the United States at the end of 2019, and have been tailoring it for Asten Realty. By now, I haven´t seen any CRM that would live up to this one!

• We recruit real estate agents with sales experience. In times of crisis it is better to join a recognized and established real estate agency instead of working on your own: we have seen this in 2008 - 2010. Our next training starts on March 30, so contact our Human Resources Director for the interview.
• In times of crisis, real estate sales may decrease but they do not disappear. People will still be buying and selling. In addition, with the capital in place that has been accumulated for good investments, and the bargain offers that will surely reappear, regardless of a decline or a rise of the real estate market, the question is “what percentage of these sales will be made by your real estate agency?” We are going to optimize the work with our owners and buyers, and to educate them on the opportunities the current situation presents.

I wish everyone to remain healthy and optimistic! Be very careful and analyze the situation with a cold head. Hugs and kisses!