Foreigners have more influence than ever in the Spanish housing market. According to data from notaries, in the second half of 2022 they bought 70,163 homes in Spain, 9.7% more in year-on-year terms and the second highest volume in the historical series.
Although the transactions are slightly below the first six months of last year (73,466), they accounted for 21.1% of total home sales and purchases in Spain, the highest figure in the historical series. Until now, the record was held by the second half of 2015, with 20.3% of transactions. Moreover, this percentage is more than 4 points higher than the average recorded between 2010 and 2021 (17%).
Share of home purchases by foreigners in Spain
The graph below shows the share of home purchases by foreigners in Spain (% of total sales).
What also stands out in the notarial statistics is the average price paid by foreigners when buying property in Spain. Specifically, the average amount stood at 2,089 euros per m2 between July and December, the highest since 2008. After the two semesters of that year, it is the highest average price in the historical series.
The new maximum price has been driven mainly by the average price paid by non-resident foreigners for their homes, which is at an all-time high of 2,558 euros/m2, after rising by 3.1% year-on-year. This amount far exceeds those paid by both resident foreigners (1,668 euros/m2, 6.4% more than in the second half of 2021) and domestic buyers (1,553 euros/m2, up 3.3% year-on-year).
However, the average price paid by foreigners for homes in Spain depends largely on nationality. Specifically, the highest amounts were paid by buyers from Switzerland (2,904 euros/m2), Sweden (2,885 euros/m2), Denmark (2,881 euros/m2), the USA (2,809 euros/m2), Germany (2,685 euros/m2) and Norway (2,656 euros/m2). In contrast, Moroccans (717 euros/m2), Romanians (1,117 euros/m2) and Ecuadorians (1,151 euros/m2) paid the lowest prices in the second half of last year.
Foreigners who buy the most homes in Spain
By nationality, the British continue to be the most numerous home buyers, accounting for 10.72% of total transactions (7,520), followed by Germans (9.33%) and French (7.35%). Over the year as a whole, they were also the most prominent profiles, followed by Moroccans, Romanians, Italians, Belgians, Dutch, Swedes and Chinese. Rounding out the top 15 are Russians, Ukrainians, Irish, Americans and Argentinians.
However, the nationalities with the highest year-on-year increases in transactions were Ukrainians (99.87%), Americans (36.64%) and Argentinians (34.54%). In fact, buyers from these three countries have broken their own record for acquisitions in a six-month period, along with the Portuguese.
Where foreigners are buying property in Spain in 2023
All of Spain's autonomous communities recorded an increase in transactions led by foreigners, except Cantabria (-16.27%) and the Balearic Islands (-14.05%). In contrast, in eight regions the increase exceeded the national average: Asturias (34.68%), Galicia (31.03%), Canarias (22.41%), Castile and León (20.30%), Extremadura (19.44%), Valencia (18.92%), Cataluña (13.53%) and Murcia (10.38%). In contrast, in the Basque Country (8.81%), Aragon (4.78%), Madrid (3.66%), Navarre (3.06%), La Rioja (2.88%), Castile-La Mancha (0.76%) and Andalusia (0.13%) the increase was in single digits.
In terms of the volume of transactions, Valencia is the region where foreigners bought the most homes in the second half of last year, with more than 20,700 units. It is followed at a distance by Andalusia (13,434), Catalonia (10,970), the Canary Islands (5,413), Madrid (4,786), the Balearic Islands (3,816) and Murcia (3,541). At the other end of the table are Navarra, La Rioja, Extremadura and Cantabria, with less than 500 units between July and December.
Finally, Spanish notaries explain that the French led the share of sales among non-resident foreigners in the two Castilian regions, Extremadura, Aragon, Catalonia, Navarre and Cantabria. In contrast, the British were the main buyers in the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia, while the Germans stood out in the archipelagos and Galicia; the Americans, in Madrid, the Basque Country and La Rioja; and the Argentinians, in Asturias. Among resident foreigners, Moroccan and Romanian nationals were the main buyers almost everywhere in the country, except in Galicia, Valencia and the archipelagos, where the share of Portuguese, British, German and Italian buyers, respectively, was higher.
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