Madrid and Barcelona Lead a Shift: What CBRE’s 2026 Survey Means for Spain’s Property Market

Madrid and Barcelona are pulling global capital into real estate Spain

The latest CBRE European Investor Intentions Survey 2026 makes one thing clear: global capital is moving back into core European cities, and real estate Spain is a primary beneficiary. Within the first two lines: Madrid finished second in the city ranking, with Barcelona fourth, and Spain topped the list of countries expected to deliver the highest total returns in 2026. Those are not small details; they reshape where international investors will focus their searches and due diligence this year.

As market observers, we read this as both opportunity and warning. Opportunity because strong investor interest usually supports pricing, liquidity and deal activity. Warning because where capital floods, competition rises and underwriting standards get tested. Below I unpack the CBRE findings, explain what they mean for different types of buyers and investors, and set out practical steps to navigate Spain’s evolving property market.

What the CBRE 2026 survey found and why it matters

CBRE surveyed 698 international investors to compile its European Investor Intentions Survey 2026. The headline points for readers focused on Spain and Portugal are:

• London ranked first among cities for investor appeal.
• Madrid placed second and Warsaw third.
• Barcelona ranked fourth, followed by Milan.
• Spain was the top country in terms of expected total real estate returns for 2026.
• Portugal placed sixth among countries and Lisbon made the top ten cities.
• Poland ranked third nationally, while Warsaw rose to be seen no longer as a regional market but as a core investment hub.
• Investors highlighted price stability, easing borrowing costs, and resilient demand as drivers, with sustainability and energy efficiency upgrades rising as central investment filters.

Why this matters: rankings guide allocation. Institutional managers, funds and family offices use surveys like this to justify market entries or expansions. If Spain is top of the country list, expect more cross-border RFPs, sales processes and joint-venture approaches focused on Spanish assets over the coming quarters.

Why Spain is attracting investor money now

Spain’s strong showing in the CBRE survey reflects multiple factors converging:

• Price and demand dynamics: Investors cited price stability and resilient demand. Spanish residential and core commercial markets have shown recovery since the prior cycles, making assets easier to underwrite. For many institutions looking for predictable cashflow, that is attractive.
• Financing environment: While rates remain elevated by historic standards, the survey respondents flagged a gradual easing of borrowing costs. That improvement loosens debt underwriting and helps bid values for assets.
• Urban fundamentals: Madrid and Barcelona are large, diversified economies with sustained population and employment growth in key sectors such as finance, technology and tourism. That underpins demand for offices, multifamily and hospitality stays.
• Value-add potential: Investors are increasingly focused on repositioning and upgrading existing assets to extract value. Spain’s stock of older office and retail properties gives scope for refurbishment, densification and conversions to residential or alternative uses.
• ESG priorities: Energy efficiency upgrades and sustainability criteria have moved from optional to essential. Buildings that can be retrofitted to meet new performance standards gain a pricing and letability edge.

I believe the mixture of predictable cashflow and scope for active asset management is the real draw. Buyers that prefer passive exposure may find pricing in core assets tight, but value-add strategies make Spain appealing for hands-on investors.

How Portugal and other markets compare: the regional view

CBRE’s survey does not paint Spain in isolation. The Iberian Peninsula as a whole attracts attention:

• Portugal ranked sixth among countries expected to deliver high returns in 2026.
• Lisbon is among the top ten cities for investment appeal.

Portugal’s case is different from Spain’s. Lisbon benefits from constrained housing supply, strong tourism inflows and a buoyant tech and services sector. Investors looking at Portugal often weigh tourism exposure and regulatory shifts around short-term rentals. In contrast, Spain’s two biggest cities offer larger deal sizes and deeper markets for institutional investors.

Across Europe the survey showed a broad spread of interest: Warsaw was third in the city ranking and Poland retained third place at national level for the third year in a row. That signals that capital is not confined to Western European cores but is moving into markets with stable macro outlooks and growth potential.

Sectors to watch in Spain: where investor demand is concentrated

The CBRE findings reflect investor preferences that play out across property types. In Spain, the most active sectors are:

• Residential and purpose-built rental (PRS): Demand for long-term rental stock is rising as institutional investors chase stable cashflows and diversification.
• Office: Major occupiers continue to concentrate in Madrid and Barcelona; the sector is split between prime assets that command premium rents and secondary stock targeted for repositioning.
• Logistics and industrial: E-commerce penetration and reshoring trends support logistics demand in key nodes such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
• Hotels and hospitality: Tourism recovery keeps hotels on investors’ radars, but exposure can be cyclical and sensitive to regulatory steps on short-term lets.
• Retail: Selective plays in prime retail and experiential retail are viable, while traditional malls need repositioning to remain relevant.

For investors, the choice of sector depends on risk tolerance. Core players will focus on prime offices and logistics where lease covenants and tenant credit are strongest. Value-add and opportunistic buyers will look at conversions of secondary offices to PRS, hotel repositionings and sustainability upgrades that can materially increase net operating income after capex.

Practical advice for buyers and investors in Spain

Based on the CBRE findings and what we are seeing in market activity, here are practical steps for investors considering Spain:

• Prioritise cities and submarkets: Madrid and Barcelona will continue to attract the most capital. For institutional-size deals, focus on prime submarkets in those cities or emerging nodes with clear demand drivers.
• Build ESG into valuation: Energy efficiency retrofits are not optional.