"Foreigners' purchase of housing increased by45% in2022:88,800 transactions."."

Foreigners are buying more property in Spain than ever before and investing in it at a record level. Last year, foreign buyers completed transactions for the purchase of 88,858 homes in Spain, which is 45% more than the approximately 60,900 transactions in the previous year. This unprecedented figure was traditionally published by the College of Registrars.

At the same time, according to the data presented, the number of transactions amounting to at least 500,000 euros reached record levels. In total, this community made 8,975 such transactions in 2022, which is an increase of 63.5%.

Registrars explain

These figures completely disrupt the trend of recent years. Traditionally, the share of foreigners in the Spanish market was around 13%, a percentage that was noted last year (13.8% of all transactions) after several years of decline. The difference is that in 2022, nearly 650,000 transactions were made, setting an unprecedented record, which leads to an increase in the absolute number of transactions by foreigners. This situation, the registrars emphasize in the document, "demonstrates the current strength of foreign demand in the real estate market."

One of the most significant facts

The statistics indicate that the share of transactions amounting to over half a million euros allows foreign non-EU buyers to apply for the so-called "golden visas" for residency in Spain. Out of 88,800 transactions made by foreigners, about 10% (8,975 purchases) exceeded this amount. Among them, approximately 3,794 were made by citizens of non-EU countries, meaning those who can apply for residency. The data again shifts the trend: for the first time, the number of foreign transactions of at least 500,000 euros exceeds 10% of the total.

Distribution of results by nationality

It confirms that the share of British citizens accounts for 11.07% of all real estate purchases made by foreign nationals.

The mosaic of purchases depending on the buyer's nationality

It is diverse and shows different trends both in regional analysis and in the type of housing. Registration specialists explain that the latter case is due to the share of secondary housing among foreigners with high purchasing power. For example, apartments larger than 100 square meters are usually bought by Americans, Brits, Danes, and Dutch, while properties smaller than 80 square meters are most often purchased by Moroccans, Romanians, Bulgarians, Poles, and Italians.

There are also significant territorial differences. In the Balearic Islands, 34.38% of all purchase transactions are made by foreigners, as well as in vacation areas such as the Canary Islands (28.6%), the Valencian Community (26.8%), Murcia (19%), Andalusia (15%), and Catalonia (13.5%). In some provinces, the share of foreign residents is even higher. This is the case in Alicante or Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where the percentage ranges from 41.7% to 35%.

In general terms, the British and Germans dominate in Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Murcia, and the Valencian Community. Romanians and Moroccans, on the other hand, position themselves in the inland regions, with a larger share in the two Castiles, Extremadura, Madrid, or Aragon.

In total, the volume of real estate transactions, including both national and foreign, amounted to 646,241 operations in 2022, which is 14.5% more than in 2021, according to the Collegium of Registrars. Sales of used properties exceeded 530,000, marking a 17.6% year-on-year increase, while new housing recorded just over 115,000 transactions, an increase of 2%.

The average price paid for housing in Spain was around 188,000 euros, which is 4.5% higher, with the Balearic Islands, Madrid, the Basque Country, and Catalonia exceeding the average. Meanwhile, Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha have an average property value that has not reached 100,000 euros.

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