Foreign demand for homes in Spain did not stop in 2025. According to the statistical report published by the College of Registrars, during the past year, foreigners were involved in almost 100,000 transactions throughout Spain – a new record high.
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Foreigners acquired nearly 97,500 properties, representing 13.8% of total sales. Despite the absolute volume record, the share of foreign buyers in Spain's real estate market has decreased by almost eight-tenths of a percentage point compared to 2024 and by more than one percentage point since the peak in 2023, when they accounted for almost 15% of transactions.
"This result represents two years of slight percentage declines, but with increases in absolute terms due to the rise in the number of property sales. This fact confirms that foreign demand is a particularly significant factor in the strength of the Spanish property market," states the Property Registrars' yearbook.
The provinces with the most foreign buyers
Foreign buyers play a very important role in several coastal provinces, where foreigners bought at least one in five homes that changed ownership last year.
At the top of the ranking is Alicante, where foreigners accounted for 43.29% of transactions formalised during 2025. The next most prominent provinces on the list were Málaga (32.80%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (30.04%), followed by the Balearic Islands (29.86%), Girona (25%), Las Palmas (21.72%), and Murcia (21.42%). Below 20%, but above the national average of 13.8%, are Almería (17.47%), Tarragona (15.86%), and Barcelona (14.21%).
In contrast, in Valencia, foreigners accounted for 12.23% of sales in 2025, while in Madrid, they represented just 6.9% and in Seville, 2.5%. Only in three provinces did foreigners represent less than 2% of the market: Salamanca, Jaén and Badajoz.
Reference nationalities
In absolute terms, the British remain the main foreign buyers in Spain, although their share is gradually decreasing in favour of other nationalities.
During the past year, they purchased 7,665 properties, representing 7.97% of all property purchases made by foreigners. The next largest groups of buyers were Germans (6,273 sales, 6.52% of the total), Dutch (6,071, equivalent to 6.3%), Moroccans (5,524 transactions, 5.74% of the total by foreigners), Romanians (5,042, 5.24% of the total), and French (4,918, representing 5.11% of transactions led by foreigners).
The new figures from the land registrars also reveal geographical preferences among nationalities when it comes to buying a home in Spain. "This shows that British citizens account for the largest number of home purchases by foreigners in Andalusia, Murcia and the Valencian Community; Germans in the Balearic Islands; French in Catalonia; Italians in the Canary Islands; and Chinese in the Community of Madrid," the document explains.
Property types and surface area
According to the land registry, foreigners have opted for new home purchases less frequently (21.54%) than Spaniards (21.76%). Considering the nationalities leading the way in terms of number of property transactions, those with the highest proportion of second-hand homes were French (86.42%), Bulgarians (85.34%) and Moroccans (85.28%). In comparison, the nationalities that have opted most frequently for new builds were Polish (39.84%), Belgian (34.49%) and Dutch (32.91%).
Regarding surface area, Spaniards tend to buy property clusters with larger surface areas, while foreigners are more interested in buying property clusters with smaller surface areas, since they are mostly second homes, with fewer needs than a primary residence.
Record purchases of over €500,000
Registrars confirm that average property prices in Spain reached historic highs in 2025, after reaching €2,284/m2; with the Community of Madrid (€4,091/m2), Balearic Islands (€3,988/m2), Basque Country (€3,295/m2) and Catalonia (€2,709/m2) leading the country.
This increase has driven the average price per home to €214,581, a new record high. It has also led to a rise in transactions by foreign buyers exceeding €500,000.
According to the registry yearbook, the proportion of homes purchased by foreigners for more than €500,000 has exceeded 12% for the first time, and four autonomous communities surpass that national average: the Balearic Islands (41.79%), Madrid (24.4%), Andalusia (19.22%) and Catalonia (13.15%).
"This result marks the return to the upward trend that had been interrupted in 2023, after seven consecutive years of growth. The acceleration of the growth in average property prices has contributed to this rise. Of all foreign home buyers of properties costing over €500,000, 53% were from EU countries and 47% from non-EU countries," the registrars concluded.
