( CNN ) -- The Spanish town of Pioz boasts views of snow-capped mountains , a 15th-century castle , and a swimming pool for locals to bathe in -- but residents are in short supply . Pioz has become a ghost town , a haunting reminder of the country 's continuing property crisis . Pioz is saddled with €16 million of debt , making it Spain 's most indebted town . Thousands of newly-built homes remain empty and vandalized years after they were built , other projects are simply unfinished and unpaid for . The town is in the municipality of Guadalajara , just an hour 's drive from Madrid , but commuters were n't lured in by the new-build homes . Today , only 3,500 people live in these housing estates designed for 25,000 . The Spanish property boom went bust in 2007 , and now 20 % of Spanish homes lie empty . The banking sector has €186 billion-worth of troubled real estate assets on its books . It is easier to grasp the impact of these statistics when standing on a street in Pioz . Row upon row of identical homes stand empty , complete with boarded-up windows , peeling plaster , hanging electrical cables and falling down `` For Sale '' signs . At the heart of the town stands an iconic 15th-century castle ; despite the ravages of time it appears to be in better shape than many of the newer crumbling homes that surround it . However , looks can be deceiving . `` It 's falling down , '' said ex-Mayor Amelia Rodriguez , `` we were thinking of doing some restoration work on it , but owing to the crisis it is not possible . We will leave it until one day when we can . '' Elsewhere in the town lie newer constructions : A €1 million community swimming pool that had just one bather on CNN 's visit , a €500,000 medical center and a €12 million sewage and water treatment plant , neither of which can be used due to lack of funds for running costs . According to Juan Yunta , the Director of Public Works in Pioz , the €400,000 toxic waste plant , subsidized by the European Union and Department of Industry , has problems that do n't stop at the running costs -- there is a dispute over who actually owns the land . `` Everything has been built on land which does n't even belong to the town hall , '' he said . `` Fiasco ? As far as I know fiasco is when something breaks , like a natural disaster , this is something far greater -- this is utter madness . '' Amelia Rodriguez has been the mayor of Pioz for just over a year , but since CNN visited has been ousted from office by the previous mayor Emilio Rincon and six councilors . She hopes that future town planners and property developers will learn from their mistakes . `` As the money came into the town hall , they did n't realize it would ever stop , '' she said . `` The good times do come to an end . We 'll go back to the good times , but for now we must wait . I hope this is a lesson for everyone . '' CNN 's Anna Stewart contributed to this article .
Pioz is saddled with €16 million of debt , making it Spain 's most indebted town . Today , only 3,500 people live in housing estates designed for 25,000 . The country 's property boom went bust in 2007 , and now 20 % of Spanish homes lie empty . The banking sector has €186 billion-worth of troubled real estate assets on its books .