Foreign buyers accounted for 15% of homes bought in Spain last year – the highest figure ever

FOREIGN house buyers are continuing to target the Spanish real estate market as domestic purchases continue to fall.

Figures from the country’s notaries for 2023 show that 14.98% of property purchasers came from international buyers- a record percentage figure.

For the second successive year, foreign home purchases grew as a percentage to beat the previous best of 13.75% in 2022.

Oscar Martinez, president of the Professional Association of Real Estate Experts, said: “More and more international tourists are coming to Spain and they find areas they like with a good climate which makes them think of buying a second home or even coming out to retire.”

A total of 583,000 properties were sold in Spain last year, down 9.8% on 2022, which was boosted by a post-Covid pandemic rush.

However, domestic purchase slowdowns are not being mirrored by a fall in international buyers who accounted for three out of every 20 homes sold in 2023.

“Foreign customers are financially astute and are very clear about what they can afford,” said Eva Lopez from the National Federation of Real Estate Associations (FAI).

According to the notaries, only 7.5% of mortgages last year involved foreign buyers.

“If they need financing, some of them have it already ready from their own country because of different terms and conditions for a domestic buyer,” added Lopez.

The largest foreign group were the British with 8,173 purchases, followed by Germans(6,244) and the French(5,712).

The favourite areas for British buyers are the Valencian Community followed by Andalucia.

The Balearic Islands had the greatest foreign purchase totals as a percentage last year, coming in at 31.5% followed by the Valencian Community(29.2%) and the Canary Islands (28.5%).

There was also a significant presence in the Murcia region(23.8%) and Catalunya(15.7%).

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