SOCIMIs and property funds in Spain: how to invest without buying a flat

Not everyone can afford to buy a flat to invest in, but almost everyone can invest in property through SOCIMIs (Sociedades Anónimas Cotizadas de Inversión Inmobiliaria, Spanish listed real estate investment companies). They're the Spanish equivalent of American REITs: companies that own portfolios of rental properties and distribute 80% of their profits as dividends. They're bought and sold on the stock market like any other share.

How SOCIMIs work

A SOCIMI buys and manages properties (offices, shopping centres, logistics, residential), lets them and distributes the income among its shareholders. To keep the special tax regime, SOCIMIs are obliged to: hold at least 80% of their assets in rental properties, distribute at least 80% of their operating profit as dividends and be listed on a regulated market.

The main Spanish SOCIMIs

• Merlin Properties: The largest Spanish SOCIMI. A diversified portfolio of offices, shopping centres and logistics. Listed on the Ibex 35.
• Colonial (Inmobiliaria Colonial): Specialises in prime offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Paris.
• Arima Real Estate: Specialises in offices in Madrid, with ESG criteria.
• Lar España (now Helios RE SOCIMI): Focused on shopping centres and retail parks. Since February 2025 it has had a single shareholder, Helios RE (owned by Hines and Grupo Lar), and it is no longer listed on the stock exchanges: it moved to BME Scaleup.
• Vivenio: A residential rental SOCIMI. A portfolio of more than 5,000 homes.

Advantages over buying a flat directly

Total liquidity (you sell in seconds on the stock market), no management, diversification with little capital, regular dividends and exposure to types of property (logistics, prime offices) that are out of reach for the private investor. The drawback: you're exposed to stock market volatility, even though the underlying asset is property.

Invest in physical property: If you prefer tangible property, RadarPro analyses auctions and bank-owned flats to find assets with a higher return than many SOCIMIs.