Foreign buyers of housing in Spain rose 1.8% year over year in the first half of the year, snapping two halves of declines and accounting for more than 20% of total transactions in this market, with Britons, Moroccans, and Germans among the most active participants.
Specifically, in the first six months, foreigners completed 69,412 purchases of free housing, according to data published by the General Council of Notaries. This uptick follows a 10% drop in the second half of 2023.
In a context now shaped by rate cuts from the European Central Bank, the pattern of two consecutive halves of year-over-year declines in 2023 is ended. Yet in the first half of 2024 the increase is more modest than the gains seen in 2021 and 2022.
They account for around 20% of total transactions
Transactions by foreigners represented 20.4% of the total purchases, below the 2023 average of 21.1%. Foreign residents made up 58.2% of purchases, marking a year-over-year rise of 4.2%, while non-residents accounted for 41.8% of the total, down 1.4% year over year.
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Britons lead, followed by Moroccans and Germans
Britons led foreign home purchases with 8.4% of the transactions, amounting to 5,864 deals. Moroccans followed with 7.9%, and Germans with 6.8%.
The remainder of non-EU buyers accounted for 11.2%, continuing the upward trend seen in previous semesters. The strongest growth in transactions came from Poles, up 28.5%; Ukrainians, up 20.8%; Colombians, up 19.8%; Americans, up 12.7%; Irish, up 12.4%; Chinese, up 11.7%; and Moroccans, up 11.3%. By contrast, Russians, Norwegians, French and Bulgarians led the declines, with notable drops among those groups.
Among resident foreigners, Moroccans were the leading buyers, followed by Romanians and Italians, leading the share of purchases in most autonomous communities with the exception of Galicia and Madrid, where the Portuguese and the Chinese led respectively.
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Prices paid by foreigners are higher, especially non-residents and Swedes
Purchases by foreigners in the first half reached an average price of 2,249 euros per square meter, up 7.4% from the same period in 2023. Non-resident foreigners continue paying higher prices for their homes (2,895 euros per square meter) than residents (1,734 euros per square meter) and nationals (1,659 euros per square meter).
The average price paid by non-resident foreigners rose 11.4% year over year, while that of residents increased by 3.4%. For national buyers the rise was 5.3%. Prices rose across all autonomous communities, with the largest gains in Cantabria (16.5%); Balearic Islands (14.2%); La Rioja (13.1%); and Andalusia (11%).
The highest prices paid were by buyers from Sweden (3,330 euros/m2); the United States (3,247 euros); Germany (3,114 euros); Norway (2,969 euros); and Switzerland (2,966 euros). The lowest prices were paid by Moroccans (738 euros/m2); Romanians (1,158 euros/m2); and Bulgarians (1,281 euros/m2).
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Cae la venta en Canarias, Baleares y Andalucía
Sales of free housing to foreigners rose in 14 autonomous communities and fell in the Canary Islands by 11.6%, the Balearic Islands by 0.7%, and Andalusia by 0.2%. The growth was led by La Rioja (23.8%); Extremadura (22.5%); Castilla y León (19.3%); Asturias (14.8%); the Basque Country (13.2%); Castilla-La Mancha (12%); and Galicia (11.5%). Among the major markets, Madrid rose 8.8%, Catalonia 0.9%, and the Valencian Community 1.2%.