Foreign home purchases in Spain rise 11%, says Sonneil

International buyers were involved in more than 26,800 property transactions between April and June, increasing their share of the market to 15.98% of all home purchases in Spain, the highest percentage on record. A year earlier, foreign buyers accounted for 14.10% of the market, representing an increase of 1.88 percentage points in just 12 months.

This trend contrasts with the decline among domestic buyers. Purchases by Spaniards fell from approximately 147,000 in the second quarter of 2025 to around 141,100 during the same period in 2026, a year-on-year decrease of almost 4%. By contrast, transactions involving foreign buyers grew by 11%.

However, this growth has been driven primarily by non-Spanish residents buying a primary residence, rather than second-home buyers, whose numbers increased by just 3.3%. Purchases by Romanians rose by 24%, Moroccans by 20%, while buyers from South American countries recorded growth of 42%.

“International buyers are demonstrating greater resilience during a period of modest market adjustment,” explains Andrés Pedrera, CEO of Sonneil. “The fact that nationalities traditionally associated with second-home purchases continue to grow despite the decline in the domestic market shows that Spain remains highly attractive to foreign buyers, particularly in coastal destinations that combine quality of life, connectivity, services and a residential offer tailored to this profile.”

Within the second-home market, the Netherlands once again recorded one of the most notable movements of the quarter. Dutch buyers completed 1,830 transactions, 20.2% more than in the second quarter of 2025 and 14.1% more than in the first quarter of 2026.

This growth brings the Netherlands almost level with the United Kingdom, the traditional leader among foreign nationals buying homes in Spain. British buyers completed 1,843 transactions, just 13 more than their Dutch counterparts, representing marginal year-on-year growth of 0.7%.

The market share of both countries in foreign purchases is now almost identical: 6.99% for the United Kingdom and 6.94% for the Netherlands. In terms of transaction volume, Brits and Dutch nationals remain the two largest groups of foreign homebuyers in Spain.

Germany ranks next among second-home markets, with 1,612 transactions and annual growth of 3.8%. France and Poland also recorded increases of 7.9% and 7.8%, respectively. By contrast, Belgium registered the largest decline, with transactions down 17.6%, followed by Russia (-5.4%) and Sweden (-2.9%).

“The Dutch case is particularly representative of how Spain's second-home market is evolving,” Pedrera notes. “The UK remains the leading market, but sustained growth from Dutch buyers is rapidly narrowing what has historically been a significant gap.”

The growing importance of international demand is especially evident in Spain's main coastal destinations. Alicante once again stands out as one of the country's leading hotspots for foreign buyers, with 5,710 international transactions recorded during the second quarter of 2026.

Foreign buyers accounted for 46.43% of all home sales in the province, representing an increase of 3.13 percentage points compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Alicante therefore remains the Spanish province with the highest relative share of international property purchases.