Quality of life, the climate and the kilometres of coastline in Spain are just a few of the things that are increasingly attracting foreigners. Proof of this is that foreigners are buying more homes in Spain than ever before. According to the Association of Registrars, between June and September 2022, foreigners bought 26,728 homes in Spain, which represents 15.92% of the total number of registered sales and purchases and a new record in the historical series of this organisation. These figures show a clear and consolidated upward trend and, above all, reflect the notable strength of the property market in Spain.
Percentage of property purchases in Spain by foreigners
From the Association of Registrars they point out that from 2014 to 2022, foreign demand has represented a very relevant weight in the sale and purchase of homes in Spain, reaching levels that have normally moved between 12% and 14%, with the exception of the period of health crisis as a result of mobility restrictions. However, during the third quarter of 2022, the weight of foreigners in the total number of sales and purchases in Spain reached 16%, levels never seen before.
Where are foreign buyers in Spain from?
Another novelty in these statistics is that the nationalities that have always been the most prominent when it comes to buying property in Spain have been losing relative weight, giving way to a diversification of nationalities.
The foreigners buying the most property in Spain in 2022/2023 are the British (9.30%), Germans (8.04%), French (6.21%), Romanians (4.58%), Belgians (4.27%), Dutch (4.10%) and Moroccans (4.01%). However, the importance of the British buyer is lower than ever. In the third quarter, 9.3% of these foreign buyers were British, and while they still represent the largest percentage of foreign buyers, this is the lowest figure since data has been available - Brits accounted for almost 24% of sales to foreigners in 2015, for example.
"The British buyer has been losing significance since the Brexit referendum was called," says Alfredo Millá, CEO of Sonneil. "Since then, the pound, which reached 1.40 against the euro, has fallen to 1.16 today. To this must be added all the administrative complications involved. Although it continues to be the leading nationality in terms of volume of operations, if we had the investment data by nationality, we could see that they would not reach the top positions in terms of investment volume, as they fundamentally buy low-priced resales".
Other leading nationalities such as the French, Russians and Belgians are in turn losing relevance due to the diversification phenomenon that is taking place. Even so, the absolute numbers show that almost all of them are at the highest levels of purchases in recent years - with the exception of the British. For example, French purchases have grown by 36% since the third quarter of 2018, while German purchases have increased by 97.8%. Of particular note are those of the Dutch, who have increased their investment in housing in Spain by 159%.
But in the statistics for the third quarter of the year, the Ukrainians and Poles stand out, who, as a result of the war, have registered the highest quarter-on-quarter increases, of 0.72% and 0.26%, respectively. Thus, Ukrainians account for 1.81% of the total number of purchases by foreigners, while Poles account for 3.86%.
In absolute terms, the leading nationalities show a certain balance between increases and decreases, with increases mainly in nationalities that have been registering less activity. The leading nationalities were British (2,446), German (2,113), French (1,633), Romanian (1,205), Belgian (1,123), Dutch (1,077) and Moroccan (1,054).
The figures showing the evolution of the year-on-year results in number of purchases for these nationalities show that practically all of them (except the British) are at their highest levels in recent years.
The most popular places for foreigners to buy property in Spain
Alicante, Tenerife and Málaga were the main provinces chosen by foreigners to buy houses in the third quarter of the year 2022. Specifically, the weight of purchases out of the total made by foreigners is as follows: Alicante (42.80%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (40.46%), Málaga (33.95%), the Balearic Islands (31.41%), Gerona (28.10%) and Las Palmas (21.29%). These figures show that foreigners are looking for sun and beach in Spain.
The recovery and growing importance of foreign investment in housing can be seen very clearly when comparing 2021 with 2022. In the third quarter of this year, around 74% more homes were sold in Alicante to non-national clients than in the same period in 2021. Valencia also stands out, with a year-on-year growth of 60%, and Málaga, with 51% more sales to foreigners.
In terms of the Autonomous Regions, 14 of the 17 have registered quarterly increases in percentage terms. Those with the greatest weight in the third quarter were the Canary Islands (33.69%), the Balearic Islands (31.46%), Valencia (28.34%), Murcia (23.38%), Andalusia (17.76%) and Catalonia (15.29%). Some of them have registered maximum purchase percentages by foreigners in recent years.
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