Alex Trelinski
AS SPAIN’S real estate sector continues to contract for domestic buyers due to higher interest rates, foreign purchasers are getting a higher percentage share of the property market.
According to figures from the Property Registrars for the period between April and June 2023, non-Spanish residents represented 14.94% of all home purchases in the country- one of the biggest percentages in recent years.
Foreign demand was especially strong on the Mediterranean coast and the islands, in line with the trend of recent years.
In four provinces, overseas purchasers for at least 30% of all homes transacted in the period, doubling the national average.
Those provinces are Alicante, Malaga, the Balearic Islands, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Foreign buyers accounted for nearly 45% of home transactions in Alicante province- the only region to get above 40%.
Next are Santa Cruz de Tenerife with 38.01%, Malaga province with 32.02%, and the Balearic Islands with 30.38%.
In Girona, Murcia, Las Palmas, Almeria and Tarragona, non-Spanish buyers accounted for between 29.2% and 15.8% of the sales recorded between April and June.
Below the national average but still in double-digits are Castellon, Valencia and Barcelona, while in the remaining 38 provinces, foreigners account for less than 10% of the real estate market.
