Foreign buyers have kept increasing their footprint in Spain’s housing market in recent years. Before the pandemic, buyers from outside the country represented 16.9 percent of total transactions in 2019. After a dip in 2020 and 2021, non‑Spanish purchases rose again in 2022 to 18.7 percent, almost one in five homes.
Even though last year’s figures stood among the highest in the long-running series, 2015 still holds the peak share at 19.3 percent. In absolute terms, however, 2022 saw a larger number of properties sold to foreigners: 133,221 homes compared with 77,530 in the earlier year. This shift reflects a higher overall volume of international purchases, even if the proportion is similar or slightly higher than previous years.
According to the latest Real Estate Status report by Euroval and the Institute of Real Estate Analysis, foreign demand for housing recovered strongly after the pandemic, growing around 30 percent in 2022 versus the previous year. By comparison, overall national sales rose modestly by 2.2 percent. Put differently, demand from international buyers increased roughly fourteen times faster than demand from Spanish residents. Foreign purchases have become a central pillar supporting the stability and growth of Spain’s tourist‑housing market, and sales by foreigners already surpass pre-pandemic levels, the study notes.
In which area do foreigners buy more?
Non‑resident purchases concentrate mainly along the coast, with Madrid drawing international attention due to its status as the capital. In the capital, foreigners accounted for nearly 10 percent of transactions. Barcelona shows a similar pattern, where tourism and the city’s business activity influence buying trends.
The two largest cities trail the coastal regions and the islands, where foreign activity is higher. In the Balearic Islands, roughly four out of ten homes bought are by foreigners (about 41.3 percent). Across the Valencian Community and Andalusia, two regions show particularly strong foreign activity, with a large share of purchases located there among the country’s top destinations.
The study further highlights the coastal provinces as the focal points for foreign buyers. The five coastal provinces account for about three-quarters of all foreign purchases, with Alicante leading at 22.4 percent, followed by Malaga at 13 percent, Barcelona at 7.4 percent, Madrid at 6.1 percent, and Valencia at 6.0 percent. The Balearic Islands account for about 5.8 percent, Murcia 4.9 percent, Tenerife 4.9 percent, and Las Palmas 4 percent.
Where do they buy less?
Many regions on the peninsula see almost no activity from foreign buyers. The Atlantic coast generally stays under five percent, with Galicia, the Basque Country, and Cantabria recording market shares of about 4.5 percent, 4.8 percent, and 5.1 percent respectively. Extremadura remains the least active region, with only 3.5 percent of sales to buyers from outside Spain, and it accounts for a mere 0.3 percent of the national total closed.
Which nations buy the most?
Foreign buyers fall into two groups: those relocating abroad and those purchasing a vacation home. A February 2023 survey from the National Institute of Statistics shows that 56.4 percent of households with foreign origins, all residents in Spain, choose to rent, while 43.6 percent hold property ownership.
Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany lead among foreign buyers, representing 10.9 percent, 9.2 percent, and 6.4 percent of transactions closed by foreigners, respectively. The following nationalities include Romania (5.1 percent), Belgium (4.9 percent), Italy again (4.9 percent), and Morocco (4.8 percent).