Never before has Alicante seen so many properties change hands through inheritance as in the past year. A combination of higher mortality rates during the pandemic, sharper tax oversight thanks to new technologies, and a buoyant real estate market all contributed to a record level of inherited ownership transfers in 2022. This marked a historic peak seen for the second consecutive year in the province.
New data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that last year 20,576 properties changed owners due to inheritance, up by 129 compared to 2021, the year that set a prior all-time high in INE’s records dating back to 2007. This represents an 11% increase over the level recorded in 2019, the year before the pandemic escalated mortality rates and the spread of the coronavirus intensified.
Within this total, the number of hereditary transfers to households reached 10,292, a 6% rise from the previous year. In other words, about one in seven houses that changed hands in the province last year did so because of inheritance.
Fewer rustic farms
By contrast, 2022 saw a decline in the formalization of legacies tied to rural properties, with 4,347 such transfers, down 11.5%. It is worth noting that this decrease follows a period when rural legacies had surged in the earlier years, recovering more than 30% the year before. The strong demand for chalets and detached homes after lockdowns played a significant role, driving a reorganization of older estates and impacting inheritance patterns.
Delfín Martínez, vice dean of the Valencian Notary College in Alicante, commented on the rise in formalized legacies in the province. He points to several contributing factors behind this trend.
Among them is the improvement in fraud detection and tax reporting enabled by new technologies across administrations. When a person passes away, the information is reported to the cadastre by the Population Directorate, and both city halls and the regional government receive near-instant updates. This enhances the accuracy of tax collection and asset records, shaping how inheritances are processed and valued.
Administrations are obligated to collect two taxes in these cases: the municipal surplus value and the inheritance tax. Inheritance tax affects only a minority, as the initial 100,000 euros inherited by each child is exempt and most estates do not exceed this threshold. The net effect has been to streamline who pays what, while maintaining fairness in the transfer of assets.
Alicante leads the post‑pandemic home sales surge in Spain
The real estate market is rebounding, and demand has risen enough to expand the opportunities for selling homes and liquidating assets. This climate encourages buyers and sellers to formalize transfers quickly or resolve preexisting situations, such as heirs deciding what to do with their grandparent’s home. There is growing curiosity about relinquishing inherited properties as well, a trend that has appeared after years of steady growth noted by notaries. Through the third quarter data, transfers in Alicante peaked overall but saw a slight dip in certain categories, underscoring ongoing market adjustments.
Last year, a total of 70,916 houses changed hands in Alicante province. Among these, 49,858 were sales, 10,292 were inherited transfers, 1,517 were donated, 82 involved swaps, and 9,167 fell into other categories not specified by INE.