Michael Coy
“THE English are buying in the south, Germans on the islands, and the French and Americans in the north.” That’s the word from Spanish estate agents.
The property market is experiencing a boom, and we’re driving it.
“The English are the ones who find investing in the country most attractive. Their presence is predominant, especially in the south of the Peninsula and, to a lesser extent, also in the islands.”
So say the Spanish media.
It seems that most other foreign nationals do not buy to live in Spain, but rather invest, to have a place to relax and enjoy the sun.
This is certainly true of the Germans, who concentrate mainly in the Canary and Balearic Islands, while the French prefer to stay closer to the border and account for a large proportion of transactions in the north of the Peninsula, along with Americans, who just about sneak in among those who pay the highest prices.
Nearly one in five homes sold in Spain in 2024 was purchased by a foreigner, according to data from the Notarial Statistical Information Centre.
Last year, non-Spaniards bought a total of 140,000 homes, 6% more than in 2023.
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In the second half of the year alone, transactions grew by 10%, coinciding with the market’s recovery due to the European Central Bank’s interest rate cuts and after a more static first half of the year.
Between July and December, 69,690 transactions were recorded by foreign buyers, two out of every five of whom lived outside of Spain.
Among these non-resident investors, nationality preferences are evident when choosing where to purchase a property.
The most obvious preference is that of Germans for the archipelagos.
They are the main buyers in both the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
In the second half of 2024, they accounted for 55% of purchases in these regions, followed in both cases by the English, with a smaller share (11%).
In the central part of the peninsula, the influence of investor origin shifts.
In Madrid, purchases by the Chinese and Americans stand out, representing 18% and 10% of non-resident transactions, respectively.
It is the only region where Asian investors predominated, their purchases being a minority compared to those of Chinese residents in Spain.
Further north, the French enter the scene, being the main buyers in Castile and León, Cantabria, Navarre, Aragon, and Catalunya and the second largest in the Basque Country, accounting for between 20% and 33% of transactions.
The influence of the border is also noticeable in the western part of the peninsula, as the Portuguese are the main non-resident foreign buyers in Extremadura and the second largest in Galicia, where they account for 44% and 11% of purchases, respectively, despite their minority presence at the national level.
Along with the French, Americans also stand out in the northern peninsula, with the greatest influence in Galicia, Asturias, La Rioja, and the Basque Country.
These North American investors are among those who pay the highest prices.
Only Venezuelans and Colombians exceed them.
Foreign investors living outside Spain are generally characterised by paying higher prices.
In the second half of 2024, the average price was €3,063 per square metre, 12.8% more than the previous year, while foreign buyers settled in the country paid an average of €1,795 per square metre.
In other words, non-residents are buying the more expensive houses.
Among this second group, foreigners who live here, Moroccans and Romanians stand out—they purchased 4,962 and 3,944 homes, respectively, in the second half of the year, representing 12.3% and 9.7% of the total.
Not surprisingly, according to data from the INE (National Institute of Statistics and Census), they represent approximately 14% and 9% of the immigrant population in Spain, respectively. They are the two most numerous foreign nationalities.
Among foreign residents, these groups are the most prominent in all regions except Galicia, Madrid, and the islands.
In the former, Portuguese and Venezuelans predominate, although the market is quite divided; while in the capital, Chinese again are the most numerous, along with Italians.
The latter also have a significant presence in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and Catalonia, accounting for between 26% and 11% of purchases.
In the Atlantic archipelago, they share the lead with the English, who are also once again strongly present in the southern peninsula.
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