A review of YaEncontre, a major property portal for real estate in Spain for Spanish property purchases, sales and rentals.
As a sizeable Spanish Realtor, the question is: Is YaEncontre a legitimate property portal which prioritizes the customer? Or is it just phishing for those seeking Spanish property as targets for advertising? Operating since 2000, YaEncontre, is a Catalan based real estate agent with 61 employees and some 800,000 listings to excite property renters and buyers.
70% owned by Idealista boosts it to the top Spanish property portals. Its website is user-friendly and appealing on both desktop and mobile devices, with filters to refine search parameters. Properties are listed with quality photos, decent descriptions, and fast download speeds.
However, predominantly negative feedback raises serious doubts about their functionality and legitimacy as a real estate portal. In this article we look into YaEncontre, https://www.yaencontre.com/, as a website and a real estate agency in Spain, and share our experiences with them. We test out concerns from customer feedback, their marketing strategies, and the issue of fake listings on other property portals like Idealista, Fotocasa, and Wallapop.
PROS
- Large number of listings
- Well-established, since 2000
- Intuitive interface
- Mobile compatible
- Good range of search options and filters
CONS
- No global language change to English option
- Lack of responses to emails
- Automated responses
- Fake listings
- Aggressive marketing
💎 The YeEncontre Website
The YaEncontre homepage has a sleek modern look using warm tones, with a user-friendly interface which is equally as versatile on both desktop and on mobile devices, enabling fluid movement across the different areas of the site in the search for suitable properties.
There is an excellent range of search tools and filters to facilitate the narrowing down of suitable properties. These include exact property identification, a drawing feature to specify the area of search which enables a high degree of accuracy, and maps with the location of all properties in the area being viewed, including an option to view by price. Searches can also include property size, price, type, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
A downside for international buyers who don’t speak Spanish is the language features. English is accessible only by the translate function on mobiles and desktops, and it is not a global function for the whole site. Each new page and listing has to be translated afresh. There are also some pages which simply don’t translate, such as the email page.
Answers to emails sent in English had automatic responses, and were all in Spanish. This makes searching for a property for anyone who does not speak Spanish an extremely difficult one, and raises the question of whether other needs specific to foreign buyers are addressed.
While all the features and search filters are present and accounted for, and the site is easy to negotiate other than the language issue, the user experience is not as favourable. For such a big site, there were limited reviews. However, those posted were almost exclusively negative and with only one star, which is of itself very disconcerting. The problems cited included:
- Automated responses to contact efforts
- Emails never answered
- Fake listings on other sites like Wallapop, Fotocasa and Idealista
- Aggressive automated marketing in spite of no personal response
- “Unsubscribe” options didn’t work
Captcha validations were reasonable, in pop-ups at intervals.
ADVANTAGE
- Large number of listings
- Intuitive interface
- Good range of search options and filters
DISADVANTAGE
- Fake listings
- Aggressive marketing
👉 YaEncontre Site Features
Operating since 2000, YaEncontre is now a well-established site. It currently has around 60 employees, and about 800,000 listings. Sellers can list 2 properties for free, and can include as many photos as they please. Typically properties have upwards of 20 or 30 photos showcasing their homes.
▶ Search Filters and Functionality of YaEncontre
Search tools include exact property identification, a drawing feature to specify the area of search which enables a high degree of accuracy, and maps with the location of all properties in the area being viewed, including an option to view by price.
The search options are comprehensive, although there is no search option to list whether apartments are pet and child friendly, a function which can be important for rentals. The proximity to particular services is also not well covered. Location for most people can be dependent on the convenience of schools and universities, health centres and hospitals, and supermarkets and shopping centres.
The monthly price for respective lengths of tenancy is listed within the property description. However, on the whole, YaEncontre has a fairly inclusive search feature.
➡️ Website Sections and Navigating YaEncontre
YaEncontre has a range of filter choices. Interested parties can specify whether they want properties to buy or rent, and the type of property, and its usage. There are also different options for choosing the search area. The actual address of a property of interest can be inserted, or the location can be chosen by map.
Once the list of properties which fit the criteria have been loaded, there Is an option to choose from the map, allowing choice by location, and can also include the price.
At the top left is a filters option. The buyer can specify:
- Property usage
- Type of property, from studios and lofts, to land, storage spaces and boats
- Price range
- Maximum and minimum square meterage
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
Sorts can be organized in ascending or descending order for relevance, price, space and most recently listed. Further filters allow the viewing of only properties which include certain features, such as:
- Heating
- Airconditioning
- Fireplaces
- Furnished or not
- Balconies
- Terraces
- Gardens
- Pools
- Parking spaces
Navigation between this extensive range of filter options is intuitively smooth. Download speeds are fast on both desktop and mobiles, with no wait for memory heavy photos to load up, or for data to change with a changed search location or other filter details. On the whole, the website has an easy to negotiate interface, pleasing to view, and covers the buyer search and filter needs with quite a degree of detail. Renters are also mostly catered for.
⭐ Other Services
YaEncontre is a portal for properties in Spain. While the site itself is in Spanish and has very limited options for translating into English, it is owned by Idealista which is in English and offers a range of services such as insurance and mortgages. It is accessible via Idealista.
This is good news for the non-Spanish speaker hunting for properties in Spain. However, it raises two issues.
- The link is not available on the YaEncontre page, so browsers have no way of knowing this or finding the link in this almost Spanish-only page.
- If YaEncontre simply refers everyone to Idealista, what is their purpose and function? It has good features, but this is of no use for anyone if they can’t understand anything, especially if everything and more is available on the Idealista site.
📲 Mobile Compatibility
The site has made themselves as easily accessible on mobile devices as via desktop. The process couldn’t be simpler.
▶ The Website
- Search for YaEncontre.com
- Access their homepage
- Scroll through your options
The options are the self-same as for the desktop, simply in a vertical format. The page has been designed to suit the mobile as comfortably as the bigger laptop screen. Their icon can be pinned to your homepage for convenience just like any other site. All features are there, including the refined filters and articles for information.
▶ The App
Alternatively, there is also an app if that is your preference.
- Go to Google Store on your Android, or App Store on your iPhone
- Search for YaEncontre
- Install
- Open
The app will lead you through your search preferences, including where and what you are looking for, and your price range. This brings up a list of options which you can browse, extend or limit as you refine your search parameters. There are also options to save your favourites, and a list of your recent searches.
Unlike the mobile website, the app is purely for property searches, and doesn’t include the extra features such as articles. However, unless you have no interest in the articles, both can be loaded onto your device and used as you wish.
The one drawback of the mobile feature, whether app or website, is the same as for the desktop website. There are no working options to translate the site from Spanish into English. For this reason, the site is unsuitable for non-Spanish speakers without copy-paste into google translate for every detail.
📜 Articles and Real Estate News
The website includes a section with a range of articles on a variety of issues and interests around the buying and selling of homes. Click on the link at the bottom of the homepage to access the notices and news, and these sections include:
- Sales – Angles on choices: different regions to choose, houses in festival zones, design priorities
- Economy – Issues affecting the property market in Spain
- Decor – Style and design ideas and considerations to personalize your home
- Homes – Collections of home types by things like location, budget, functionality
- Sustainability – Environmental issues and eco considerations
- Professionals – Specific interest articles for businesses
Some special features include guidance on choosing a real estate agent through which to sell a property by narrowing down the options to four based on the details of your property. This is an excellent feature very helpful to prospective sellers. Similar articles to aid buyers and renters would be a bonus.
Other articles outlined details on the property selling process, steps to making sales smooth and problem free, and how to sell quickly. Again, the absence of similar articles to help buyers through the purchase process was disappointing, and may explain the predominantly negative feedback which indicated frustrations from those in the buying and renting side of the market.
The articles seemed to be dominated by sales advice, supporting the complaints that the site is sales-focused and caters less to the needs of buyers. The only positive feedback was from a seller. The negative 5-star feedback was dominated by buyer frustrations.
🤝 YaEncontre Reliability
While YaEncontre shines in website presentation, usability, search options and convenience, there are serious concerns about the functionality of the platform.
It is a well-established property portal in Spain with more than 2 decades under its belt. Over time, Idealista (2008) https://www.idealista.com/en/, as its major competitor has bought into YaEncontre and now owns 70%, https://spain.inmofind.com/en/companies/real-estate-portals/yaencontre. This validates that YaEncontre is not a scam but a legitimate company with solid financial backing and endorsement from the industry’s giant.
However, in terms of functioning there are some serious questions about YaEncontre’s reliability as a service for seeking Spanish property within the real estate market in Spain.
👉 YaEncontre Marketing Practices
YaEncontre employs aggressive marketing practices by bombarding submitted email contacts, while not responding in person to queries. It is easy to contact them via the sites with the properties of interest, and there is a quick automated response, but only in Spanish. This is a problem for non-Spanish speakers.
Complaints referred to a constant stream of messages alerting customers to listed properties on a daily basis. However, efforts to unsubscribe or turn off this barrage of advertising were unsuccessful. Our attempts to contact them had the same results. To date we have had only automated advertising in Spanish, and no personal contact responding to the properties of our enquiries.
▶ Cross-platform Presence of YaEncontre
YaEncontre has a broad cross-platform presence, including Wallapop. This portal has a large number of their listings, but a significant proportion of them appear to be fake, or no longer valid. This seriously questions credibility of both Wallapop (https://www.wallapop.com/) and YeEncontre, and should be investigated. It also raises questions with regard to YaEncontre’s validity and reliability. Idealista – which now has majority ownership of YaEncontre – and Fotocasa (https://www.fotocasa.es/en/) also have a significant number of cross-platform listings from YaEncontre.
▶ Automated Responses
YaEncontre’s responses are initially all automated, and in Spanish irrespective of the language of initial enquiry. This is a problem for non-Spanish speakers. After an enquiry about a particular property, the potential customer is bombarded with other listings, with the original inquiry remaining unanswered, raising the question of the validity of listings. Unsubscribing seems to be a non-operational function. We I have yet to receive a response to our enquiries about specific properties.
▶ Customer Service Issues
With this level of non-responsiveness, customer service issues are clearly not a consideration of YaEncontre. With the backing of the big real estate portal Idealista, we can know that it is not a fake company, not a scam. But the lack of responses, reinforced by similar comments by others in feedback, indicates a lack of reliability and limited customer service, if any exists at all.
▶ Comparison Across Platforms
While YaEncontre is a smaller platform, it still ranks in the top 10 real estate agency portals. Ahrefs.com ranks it as #6 in terms of search traffic. Its searches are much smaller than the giants in the millions, at 462000, but they are increasing significantly, showing a growth in their visibility in the first two months of 2025 of 11%. Contributing factors might include a market being driven up by Brits continuing to leave the UK since Brexit, and the current instability in the US increasing a desire for many craving an alternative lifestyle.
The search numbers and increases at the start of 2025 include:
| Platform | Searches | Increase | Percentage |
| Idealista | 7.5M | +921k | 12% |
| Fotocasa | 2.1M | +440k | 20% |
| Yaencontre | 462k | +51k | 11% |
It may also be noteworthy that media presence rides on the back of Idealista since it acquired ownership on the 18th February, 2020.
💲 Sales and Stats Across Realtors
Yaencontre – Revenue for 2024 reached €14M, more than doubling since 2018, registering €6.25M. It currently has 800,000 homes listed, an increase of 23% from the 650k homes listed in 2018. Employees are roughly the same, at 50-60 across Europe and North America.
Idealista – Yaencontre owner and the biggest player in the Spanish real estate market registered €259M in August 2023. This is a massive increase from the €64M of 2018. The last 3 months of 2024 recorded a downturn, but sales have rallied from the start of 2025, at which time it had 393 employees. Idealista reported sales listing volumes across Spain were significantly down at the beginning of 2025, as much as by 29% in Madrid, and 23% in Barcelona. Ownership changed again in 2024 to Cinven, a private equity firm within the Cinven Group Limited. They have over 1.2 million properties listed.
Fotocasa – The second biggest portal in the Spanish real estate market, Fotocasa listed 1.5 million properties on their site in 2024.
Tecnocasa – Not a portal, but a real estate company, Tecnocasa recorded revenue of €7M ($7.5M) in November 2024. With 7,800 employees across 5 continents, Tecnocasa works as a franchise with a significant presence in Spain.
🤩 User Testimonials
All the scam and review sites give YaEncontre a reasonable score reflecting that it is safe and legitimate, the given ranking is always significantly below the top dogs. This is very likely a reflection of the negative feedback.
⭐ Trustpilot Review
Sites such as Trustpilot (https://es.trustpilot.com/review/www.yaencontre.com) look into links to suspicious sites, and consider their profile in terms of:
- Phishing
- Malware
- Spam
- Threats
- Length of operations
- HTTPS connection
- Vulnerability vectors etc
Trustpilot classified YaEncontre as “Standard-valid-common”, that it was a genuine business and not a scam. However, user feedback indicates lack of reliability, and that their site is susceptible to attack.
Our own research substantiated this conclusion, that YaEncontre is a safe site, but may be vulnerable, especially based on the problems sited. At 800,000 listings, compared to Idealista with 1.7 million listings this property portal is not the biggest, but definitely has a significant presence. It has also been around for longer than many of the others. Its relatively lower sales than the other sites suggest of inefficiencies and difficulties in their functioning. Trustpilot gave a rating of 66 to YaEncontre, far below the 84 of Idealista and the other sites in the top 10 which also had scores in the 80s. https://www.scam-detector.com/validator/yaencontre-com-review/
⭐ Common Complaints
There are very few reviews of YaEncontre based on its 800,000 listings – around 100 – but they were almost uniformly negative, 1-star rankings. The issues customers typically cited were:
- First contact is automated
- Emails went unanswered
- Any real contact never eventuated
- Listings were fake, especially those on Wallapop
- Aggressive marketing in the form of an endless barrage of ads
- ‘Unsubscribing’ was ineffective in stopping the ads, even long after the property was over
❤️ Our Verdict
At first glance, YaEncontre shines as a real estate portal, with an excellent website working with fast downloads, intuitive to use and convenient across mobile and desktop. The search sections and filters are quite extensive making prospective clients’ task a smooth and easy one. Their legitimacy is supported by 70% ownership by Idealista, and they showcase 800,000 listings across Spain.
However, with feedback dominated by almost 100% negative, 1-star reviews, there is good reason for caution. The primary reasons given were:
- Lack of responses to emails
- Difficulty making contact with an agent
- Automated response system, exclusively in Spanish
- Aggressive marketing strategies with no ‘off’ switch
- Fake listings on other platforms, notably Wallapop
Several sites ranked it significantly below the top agencies, and below what would be expected for their number of listings. While it might be a legitimate site, it is either susceptible to fraudulent software, professionally inefficient, or both. Even those who found properties through YaEncontre were targeted by ongoing aggressive marketing they were unable to cancel.
Spanish real estate is not regulated, calling for more discerning caution and research. YaEncontre may be legitimate and easy to use, but it should be approached with extra caution.
