Foreign buyers continued to show strong interest in Spain’s housing market for another quarter. Purchases by overseas buyers reached 24,791 transactions by March, according to quarterly Property Registry Statistics published by the Property Registrars.
“Foreign demand remains one of the fundamental pillars supporting the high level of property sales activity,” the Registrars note in their report.
This figure represents the fourth‑best result in the historical series and improves on the quarterly totals seen at the end of 2025. However, it remains 3.2% lower than a year earlier, when foreign buyers completed more than 25,600 purchases – the second‑highest level ever recorded.
Foreign buyers accounted for the majority of international purchases, with 58.3% of transactions attributed to European Union citizens and a further 16.8% to buyers from the rest of Europe. Shares below 10% were recorded for purchasers from Africa (9.1%), Asia (6.5%), South America (5.7%) and other regions worldwide (3.6%).
British buyers remained the most active in Spain’s housing market, representing 6.8% of all foreign transactions. They were followed in the first quarter by Dutch buyers (6.6%), Moroccans (6.2%), Germans (6%), Italians (5.5%), Romanians and French buyers (both at 5.2%) and Poles (4.6%). In absolute terms, this translated into 1,668 purchases by Britons, 1,604 by Dutch nationals, 1,518 by Moroccans, 1,489 by Germans, 1,353 by Italians, 1,272 by Romanians and French nationals and 1,126 by Polish buyers.
By autonomous community, foreign purchases increased quarter on quarter in 12 regions. The strongest growth was recorded in the Balearic Islands (28.9%), followed by the Valencian Community (28.2%), the Canary Islands (22.8%), Murcia (21.7%), Catalonia (15.4%) and Andalusia (13.2%).
Zooming in at the provincial level, foreigners accounted for more than a third of all transactions in key markets such as Alicante (44.6%) and Málaga (34.3%). They also maintained a significant presence in the Balearic Islands (28.9%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (26%), Girona (24.7%), Murcia (21.7%), Las Palmas (20.1%), Almería (17.8%) and Tarragona (15.2%).
“Tourism intensity is the key factor determining the relative weight of foreign buyers in property purchases,” the Registrars note, adding that the provinces with the highest shares are concentrated along the Mediterranean coast and across the island regions with strong tourism demand.
Property prices reach record highs with fewer sales
The average property price increased by 8.9% year on year in the first quarter to €2,429 per square metre – marking a new all‑time high. Over the same period, home sales eased slightly, falling 1.9% year on year to a total of 701,828 transactions – still the highest level recorded since the third quarter of 2007.
By property type, prices for existing homes rose by 9.6% to €2,294 per square metre, while new‑build prices increased by 6.9% to €2,495 per square metre – setting fresh records in both segments.
In terms of activity, new‑build sales grew by 7.2% quarter on quarter to 39,473 transactions, while existing home sales fell by 2% to 138,623. A total of ten autonomous communities and 30 provinces recorded quarterly declines in the number of transactions.
By region, the autonomous communities with the highest average house prices were the Community of Madrid at €4,407 per square metre, followed by the Balearic Islands (€4,173), the Basque Country (€3,474) and Catalonia (€2,852).
At the level of provincial capitals, the most expensive markets were San Sebastián, where prices reached €6,154 per square metre, followed by Madrid (€5,428), Barcelona (€4,922), Palma (€4,202) and Bilbao (€3,685).
75% of sales were closed with a mortgage
The number of home mortgages registered in the first quarter rose by 15.2% year on year, reaching a total of 513,092 mortgages on residential properties.
In the first three months of the year alone, 133,618 mortgages were recorded – accounting for around 75% of all property sales during the quarter.
Seven autonomous communities posted quarter‑on‑quarter increases, led by Andalusia with 27,270 mortgages, followed by Catalonia (24,254), the Community of Madrid (20,379) and the Valencian Community (15,640).
Meanwhile, mortgage debt per square metre recorded its twelfth consecutive increase, rising by 2.6% to an average of €1,808 per square metre.
