foreign hired for the first time in historical drama, more than 30,000 mortgages in Spain in 2022, specifically 30,503, according to the College of Registrars yearbook. This figure is 33 percent higher than 2021 and 30 percent higher than 2019. Last year was used as a comparison since it was the year before the outbreak started. In parallel, the number of foreign sales in Spain has been increasing in recent years: they bought 36,700 homes in 2013 and mortgaged just over 10,500. These figures increased tenfold in the last ten yearsUp to 90,000 transactions by 2022.
The ratio of mortgaged houses to purchased houses reached its highest value in 2020. two out of every five properties acquired foreign was through a loan. This was the highest percentage compared to 30 percent of mortgage loans in 2013. In 2021, this rate decreased compared to 2020 and continued to decrease in 2022. The main reason for this was the increase in the interest rates of the European Central Bank (ECB), which affected the cost of loans.
Foreigners buy houses and mortgage them all over Spain, but they have more assets on the coast. “Inside all autonomous communities They registered double-digit increases per yearHighest mortgage numbers in Catalonia (7,533), Andalusia (5,893) and the Commonwealth of Valencia (5,335),” points out the document published by the College of Registrars.
This increase in international presence in the national market may not end in 2023, despite the current slowdown. “In 2022, there was a serious increase in foreign sales, especially in the transactions carried out by non-residents. In 2023, the demand for housing generally slowed down, but it is still the same. international buyer shows more resistance than national buyerAlthough they now manage the transactions of resident foreigners,” explains Cristina Arias, director of the Tinsa appraiser’s Studies Service.
“A group that buys housing with its own resources”
Number of sales in the national housing market Foreign buyers played a role in 13.75 percent of operations throughout the year 2022. But all the rate of mortgages they took was only 6.58% Although it increased its weight in the cake by 20 percent compared to 2021, it was included in the total. “This group is a group in Spain that mostly buys their house with their own resources and is less likely to use mortgage financing.” He points to the school.
Also, according to CaixaBank Research, with data from Notaries, the average amount of mortgages taken by foreigners is higher to citizens. The average loan for non-Spain residents is 171,000 euros, 19% more than national residents’ 143,330 euros. Also, besides buying more expensive real estate: While a citizen pays an average of 1,500 euros per square meter, a foreigner increases this amount to over 2,000 euros. According to Tinsa’s spokesperson, “foreign buyers are often associated with acquiring a second home”, which is more resilient in the current environment “as it is less affected by inflation” […] and less affected by the impact of an increase in interest rates; because it has more initial wealth, it usually requires less financing than in the initial access situation, and the additional cost is lower because it is also less risky. lending institution.
Which nations take more mortgages?
Romanians make the most mortgage applications To the bank to buy a house, a total of 3,160 in 2022, more than 10% of the total given to foreigners last year, the average loan amount is less than 100,000 euros. Moroccans (6.3%), British (5.8%), Italians (5.7%) and Chinese (5.2%) are among the other nationalities that demand the most loans. Swedes, americans And Germans These are the people who requested higher mortgagesan average of over 320,000 Euros; Moroccans are only asking for 57,000 euros.
In addition to mortgage data, The British are the citizens who buy the most houses in Spainmore than 9,800 units in 2022 (11.1% of all foreigners); It is followed by the Germans (8,515 units) and the French (6,193 units).