How Many Spanish Homes Are Owned By Foreigners? Here’s What You Need To Know

New figures have revealed that one in every five Spanish homes in 2023 were purchased by foreign buyers. This incredible figure was recorded during the first half of the year and represents an all time high figure of property purchases being made my non-Spanish citizens.

The official figures are that 2.14% of sales and purchases nationwide were made by foreigners. However it’s not all good news as the same report showed that there has been a decline in the purchase and sale of freehold housing by foreigners, breaking a positive trend seen in the previous four half-year periods.

Here’s what you need to know about these new figures and what they might mean to you:

How Many Property Transactions Were Made?

The figures below are taken from the period between January and June 2023 and was released by Spain’s General Council of Notaries. During that period there were 67,983 property transactions conducted by foreigners. 56.8% of these were made by resident foreigners which is 3.4% less than the previous period. Purchases by non-resident foreigners had decreased by 12.4%.

The drop in purchases by foreigners living overseas have been attributed to several factors. These include: rising mortgage rates, and increasing property prices. These same factors have affected the number of purchases made in the domestic market.

Which Regions Are Most Popular With Foreign Buyers?

Only four Spanish regions saw the number of free market housing purchases made by foreign buyers increase. These regions were:

• Asturias which saw an increase of 27.7% of foreign property purchases
• Galicia which saw an increase of 14.8% of foreign property purchases
• Murcia which saw an increase of 5.5% of foreign property purchases
• Valencia which saw an increase of 1.3% of foreign property purchases

Whilst these 4 regions saw an increase in purchases a whopping 13 regions saw a decline, the most significant of which were in the Balearic Islands (-32.0 percent), Navarre (-19.7 percent), and Andalusia (-15.3 percent).

Which Foreign Buyers Are Purchasing Property in Spain?

The largest groups of foreign buyers in Spain were Brits who made 9.6% of all transactions. This was followed by Germans, and then Moroccans. The group of nationalities that includes all other non-EU foreigners made up 12.8 percent of transactions.

The only 3 groups of foreigners that increased in the number of purchases they made compared to the first half of 2022 were Russians, with a 50.2% increase in purchases made, Ukrainians with a 41.6% of purchases made and Americans with a 13.6% increase of purchases made.

What Types of Properties Are Foreign Investors Purchasing?

Property prices across Spain continue to increase. But the average price per square metre of property transactions carried out by foreign buyers in 2023 so far stands at 2,095 euros per square metre.

Non-resident foreigners continue to pay higher amounts for their homes. The average price invested per square metre currently sits at 2,598 euros. This is considerably higher than the 1,676 euros per square metre that residents are paying for their property and 1,574 euros per square metre that residents pay on average.

Nonresident buyers have seen prices increase by 2.8% compared to last year.

Who Is Paying Most For Their Property?

Property hunters from Sweden and Denmark are paying the most for their homes in Spain. This is followed by buyers from the USA, Switzerland, Germany and Norway.

At the other end of the scale the lowest prices were paid by Moroccans who paid 689 euros/m2 for their properties. Among resident foreigners, Moroccans and Romanians were the main buyers in most parts of the country, except in Galicia and the archipelagos, where Portuguese, German, and Italian buyers tended to buy more properties.

The Spanish real estate property is buoyant and it remains a popular destination for international buyers.

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