Home sales in Spain reached over 705,000 units in 2025, according to preliminary data from property registrars, representing a 10.4% year-on-year increase and the highest number of transactions since 2008, at the height of the real estate boom. Foreign buyers accounted for 13.8% of these sales, totalling almost 97,300 transactions, a new record for non-Spanish nationals. More than half of these purchases were made by EU citizens, rising to over 60% when including other European countries such as the UK, which remains the largest group of foreign buyers in Spain.
The sale of existing homes reached a record high in 2025, the highest since the 2006 peak, with over 556,091 transactions, a 10.1% increase year-on-year. These resale homes represented 78.9% of total transactions last year. Meanwhile, new construction sales reached 149,266, up 13.3% year-on-year, limited by the scarcity of new properties in Spain.
Large real estate markets such as Andalusia, the Valencian Community, Catalonia and Madrid accounted for 65% of total transactions in 2025, although their growth has been more stable than in smaller regions, where volumes rose by double digits, notably in Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra and Castilla-La Mancha.
Foreign demand remains steady compared to recent years, with a slight decrease to 13.8% of total transactions, down from 14.6% in 2024 and 15% in 2023. In absolute terms, however, the numbers are significant: while foreigners purchased almost 93,000 homes in Spain in 2024, this rose by nearly 5% in 2025, reaching almost 97,300 transactions.
In the fourth quarter, the largest shares were among British buyers (8.57%), followed by Germans (6.67%), Dutch (5.91%), Moroccans (5.30%), French (5.28%), Romanians (5.17%) and Italians (4.76%).
The autonomous communities with the highest share of foreign purchases in the fourth quarter were the Balearic Islands (32.8%), Valencian Community (29.6%), Canary Islands (24.5%), Region of Murcia (22.8%), Catalonia (16.5%) and Andalusia (14%).
Notably, in the province of Alicante, foreigners accounted for nearly half of all transactions, at 45.7%, followed by other key provinces: Balearic Islands (32.8%), Málaga (32.3%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (30.7%), Girona (28.9%), Murcia (22.8%), Almería (20%) and Las Palmas (19.7%).
Registrars confirm record house prices in 2025
Average housing prices in Spain confirmed the upward trend of recent years, rising 9.5% to €2,354/m², a new peak in the historical series compiled by Registrars.
Meanwhile, new homes reached €2,500/m², up 8% compared to 2024, while existing homes closed 2025 at €2,317/m². Both segments recorded all-time highs, marking unprecedented values in the market.
At year-end, the autonomous communities with the highest average prices were the Community of Madrid (€4,241/m²), the Balearic Islands (€4,101/m²), the Basque Country (€3,489/m²) and Catalonia (€2,779/m²).
By province, Madrid (€4,241/m²) and the Balearic Islands (€4,101/m²) again led, followed by Gipuzkoa (€3,981/m²), Biscay (€3,389/m²) and Málaga (€3,232/m²).
Among provincial capitals, San Sebastián remained the most expensive (€6,107/m²), ahead of Madrid (€5,283/m²), Barcelona (€4,800/m²), Palma (€4,086/m²) and Bilbao (€3,516/m²).
Mortgages also rise by 7.2%
In the fourth quarter, 132,385 mortgages were registered on homes, a quarterly increase of 7.2%, representing 74.3% of all home sales. Year-to-date, 498,500 mortgages were recorded, 14.5% more than in 2024.
Fourteen autonomous communities saw quarterly growth, while 16 reported annual increases, with the largest volumes in Andalusia, Catalonia, the Community of Madrid and the Valencian Community.
Mortgage debt per square metre rose for the eleventh consecutive quarter (+2%), averaging €1,763/m², a 13.9% year-on-year increase to €1,691/m².
Accessibility indicators worsened slightly in the final quarter, with the monthly mortgage payment now representing 33.8% of average salary, up 0.22 percentage points.
Registrars: “The situation is not sustainable indefinitely”
In their report for the fourth quarter of 2025, the Registrars assess the situation of the housing market in recent years. “Throughout this upward cycle, we have gone through periods with diverse circumstances, such as Covid, negative interest rates and interest rate hikes in short periods of time… but the price of housing has not stopped growing, although not as intensely as in the last two years,” highlights the Real Estate Registry Statistics.
“The strength of demand is supported by population growth, with the corresponding impact on the increase in household formation, the shortage of supply, both in new and existing housing, economic growth, employment data, low interest rates and the proactive position of the financial sector in granting mortgage credit…,” the report adds.
“Ultimately, a wide and varied set of economic, demographic and social factors is contributing to this dynamic in the housing market. Obviously, this situation is not sustainable indefinitely, as the price increase will eventually lead to a reduction in real estate activity,” they explain.
