A major contributor to the excellent performance of the Spanish market is foreign investors, who now account for 15% of all property purchases in Spain. Among them, investors from Poland are gaining an increasingly strong position.
Record participation of Polish merchants in 2022.
The second quarter of 2022 brought further news of an increase in the number of investors from Poland who decided to buy property in Spain. The share of Poles among foreign investors amounted to 3.14%, a better result than that achieved from January to March 2022 (2.39%). This is the biggest increase of all the 18 nations included in the quarterly ranking! Traditionally, the British, Germans and French lead the way with shares of 12%, 9% and 7% respectively.
2021 closed with the best result
Figures from the Registradores de España show that in 2021 there were around 1140 properties in Spain whose buyers were Polish nationals. This is the best result since the compilation was conducted, i.e. since 2005! It should be borne in mind that there could have been even more transactions, as the compilation only takes into account registered contracts.
The data on the share of transactions made by Poles in each autonomy between January and December 2021 is very interesting. They show that Poles were among the TOP10 nations purchasing property in the Principality of Asturias (2.67%), the Canary Islands (3.08%) and the Community of Valencia (3.35%).
This does not mean, however, that the largest number of ‘Polish’ purchases was made in these three regions. Numerically, there may have been more of these in Andalusia, for example – which has been the sales leader for several years – but not enough to make it into the TOP10.
Which properties are Poles buying?
The data collected shows that, of all transactions made by Poles, 75 per cent involved secondary market properties, while just under 25 per cent were houses and flats in Spain, purchased on the primary market.
The issue of the metric preferences of properties purchased by Poles is very interesting. The smallest interest is shown in small flats (less than 40 metres), while the largest interest is shown in properties measuring more than 80m2. This indicates that our compatriots are increasingly looking towards luxury properties, which we also observe in the case of transactions made in Marbella and other towns on the Costa del Sol.
Evolution of Polish investments in Spain
Analysing the data made available since 2005 by the Registradores de España, we can see how the share of investors from Poland in the number of property purchases in Spain by foreigners has increased year on year.
As recently as 2012, the market share of Poles was so low that the Registradores de España did not include their investments in the quarterly and annual lists. In the following years, the level of investment increased and Poles gradually feathered their way up the ranking to reach an all-time high in Q1 and Q2 2022 and rise to the TOP10 of the nations buying property in Spain. If the upward trend can be maintained, 2022 could be a record year in terms of Poles buying property in Spain. After all, so far we have not once managed to exceed the threshold of a 2% share of transactions by foreigners.
Considering all the available data, we are very pleased that the presence of Polish investors – willing to buy property in Andalusia and in the rest of Spain – is becoming more and more visible and recorded by official institutions dealing with the local real estate market. We sincerely believe that this is not the end of the growth, and that the number of transactions in the coming months, quarters and years will be even higher.
