Foreigners' home purchases in Spain are mainly in the Mediterranean arc and on both archipelagos. The latest idealista report highlights the more than 100 districts and neighbourhoods in these Spanish coastal towns where foreign demand represents more than 50% of the total interest in buying a home in these sun, beach and relaxation destinations.
With this data, it is worth noting that in locations within Roses (Girona), Calpe (Alicante) or Andratx (Balearic Islands), the relative foreign demand exceeds 65% of the total number of searches and interactions carried out from the real estate portal, where French, Dutch or German nationalities stand out. Discover the 120 locations where foreigners are most interested in buying a home in Spain and the most common nationality.
Foreign buying trends in Spain
Foreign home buying has been performing strongly in recent years. Between 2021 and 2023, it has led to sharp increases in transactions and their importance within the national property market, according to Property Registrars. In the last year, foreigners represented 15% of the total number of home purchases in Spain, compared to 13.8% in 2022, exceeding 87,300 transactions. In 2022, with a lower percentage of the total, they exceeded 88,800 transactions, in their best year in the historical series.
This interest remains strong in the first few months of this year. Foreign demand for housing has reached 14.2% of property sales between January and March, just 0.9 percentage points less than at the end of last year. Even so, these figures continue to be well above the usual percentages since 2014, which were above 12%.
Where do foreigners look to buy in Spain?
But where are foreigners' demand for home purchases? The coastal locations, especially the Levante, from the Costa Brava to Cadiz, and both archipelagos, have the greatest pressure of demand from abroad, according to the report prepared by idealista/data.
Just over 120 locations in various towns, districts and neighbourhoods in up to seven different provinces on the Spanish coast and islands account for more than 50% of foreign buying interest, reaching more than 70% in Port Esportiu - Puig Rom - Canyelles de Roses, in Girona; or Maryvilla district, in Calpe (Alicante).
It is Alicante province that brings together the largest number of locations – up to 30 areas – where the interest of foreign demand exceeds 50% of the total demand seen in the listings posted on idealista, the southern European real estate marketplace.
These include Los Frutales in Torrevieja; the districts of Moraia de Moravit-Cap Blanc, Paichi or Pinar de Advocat-Cometa, all with a foreign demand of between 64%-65% of the total, or areas of Orihuela with Playa Flamenca or La Zenia, with the same percentages.
Behind Alicante comes the Balearic Islands, with 28 locations, some of them arousing the interest of up to 67% of foreign demand, such as Cala Ratjada or Canyamel, in Mallorca, together with districts of outstanding towns such as Andratx, including Port d'Andratx or Es Camp de Mar or Cala Murada in Manacor.
Still above the 60% of foreign interest in buying homes are towns in Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, which has 23 of the 120 most sought-after locations in total. Most of these are on the island of Tenerife, such as Playa de Fañabé, Torviscas Bajo or La Caleta in Adeje, but the town Vallehermoso, on the island of La Gomera, or Barlovento on the island of La Palma, also appear.
This is followed by a triple tie between Girona, Malaga and Las Palmas provinces, all three with 12 favourite destinations for foreigners, attracting more interest than Spanish demand. Each one represents the destinations preferred by foreigners, such as the Costa Brava, the Costa del Sol and the Canary Islands.
In Girona, the Roses districts of Port Esportiu - Puig Rom - Canyelles, Santa Margarida and Salatar, together with the town of Empuriabrava, stand out above all others, all with more than 60% foreign demand.
In Malaga province, the following Nerja districts stand out: Burriana, Nueva Nerja, Chaparil - Torrecilla - Punta Lara or the town centre, next to the Bay of Casares or the districts of Guadalobón, Buenas Noches and Bahía Dorada in Estepona, without forgetting Puerto Banús, in Marbella.
In Las Palmas, as in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the most popular destinations are distributed among the islands, where the beaches of Mogán in Gran Canaria stand out, such as Taurito-Playa de Mogán, Los Caideros-Anfi del Mar or Puerto Rico, together with the classic Playa del Inglés, and where they also appear with more than half of the demand from abroad in towns on the island of Fuerteventura such as Pájara or Antigua, together with the areas of El Cotillo or Lajares, in La Oliva.
Finally, in Granada, the villages Rubite or Gualchos stand out, together with the districts Monte los Almendros - El Pargo - Costa Aguilera in Salobreña, and Las Palomas in Almuñécar.
Germans, Swedes and Dutch are the most frequent house hunters in Spain
For the first time in a long time, the British are not leading the demand for foreign homebuyers in Spain. Although they are the main buyers of homes in our country, they are not the most prominent nationality in these locations with the highest demand from abroad.
Visitors from Germany are the most prominent among the 120 areas analysed, being the nationality most interested in buying in 55 of them – practically half – especially in the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Sweden (21) is the next country that stands out, showing great interest in Alicante, but also being the first country to demand houses in areas of Malaga. This interest is shared with the demand coming from the Netherlands, which as well as focusing on Alicante, also extends its radius of interest to Malaga and Granada.
Another nationality that stands out is the French, being the most prominent in the areas of Girona, while Italians prefer the Canary Islands as a destination. Finally, the British have the highest foreign demand in the areas of Manilva, Estepona and Gualchos in Granada.
Demand from Poland has been particularly strong in La Mata, Alicante, and the Bay of Casares, while from Lithuania it has focused on the Cliffs of Los Gigantes in Tenerife, and from Norway in Patalavaca, in the town of Mogán in Gran Canaria, where there is already a large Norwegian community.
Data compiled and analysed by idealista/data, idealista's proptech, which provides information for a professional audience to facilitate strategic decision-making in Spain, Italy and Portugal. It uses all the idealista database parameters in each country and other public and private data sources to offer valuation, investment, recruitment and market analysis services.
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