Orlando Martínez Quevedo, co-founder of Astorga Real Estate Partners has passed away.
Orlando was born in 1941 and became a member of Spain’s official association of real estate agents (COAPI) in 1972 before joining his father and brother in the establishment of Agencia Astorga one of Madrid’s longest standing real estate agencies. The association’s board would reward his dedication to the sector with two medals, silver and gold.
Orlando was born in a family with a strong real estate tradition. He was the son of a lawyer & property investor and grandson of a civil-law notary. In fact, his great uncle, Fernando Martínez y Fernández-Mier had founded the Lonja de la Propiedad in 1915.
He became an expert at navigating property cycles specially after the 1973 oil embargo crisis hit Spain’s residential market shortly after the company’s foundation. During his years at Astorga, it grew to have 3 offices in Madrid – in Marqués de Riscal 11, Calle Principe 14 and Calle Donoso Cortés 8 – becoming a well-known industry name.
He married María Pilar Montesinos García-Mesa in 1970 in Alicante’s co-cathedral of Saint Nicholas of Bari, in a ceremony where the witnesses included his cousin-in-law José Poveda Díaz, dean of Spain’s Association of Property Registrars who would become board member of the SAREB.
But above all, Orlando’s greatest passion was his wife, his daughters Gabriella, María Pilar and María Aránzazu and his late son Orlandito. He was a great believer in family, devoted to his parents, brothers and nephews and a member of the Opus Dei. His greatest legacy are his 11 grandchildren Juanjo, Santi, Marta, Iñigo, Paloma, Yago, Pablo, Bosco, Jimena, Alejandra y Victoria.