2022 was the best year ever in terms of Poles’ involvement in the Spanish property market. A total of almost 3,000 properties were purchased by our compatriots over the past 12 months, placing them in the TOP10 of the nations most likely to buy houses and flats on the Iberian Peninsula and in Andalusia alone.
Foreigners love Spain
How was the real estate market and the involvement of foreigners in its development? Surprisingly well! In the whole of 2022, 645,000 property purchase/sale contracts were concluded in Spain, of which foreigners were responsible for 13.5%, or more than 87,000. This is a result 2.95 p.p. better than in the previous 12 months.
In absolute terms, overseas demand has increased significantly to over 88,000 transactions, up from almost 70,000 in 2021. A breakdown of the results by nationality shows how the British are consolidating their leading position with 11.07% of property purchases by foreigners, with a slight annual improvement of 0.06pc. They are followed by the Germans with 9.47% (- 0.12 pp), the French with 6.97% (-0.65 pp) and the Belgians with 5.21% (-0.51 pp).
When looking at the figures for individual nations, it is impossible to ignore the share of Poles. During the 12 months of last year, our compatriots ranked 10th among foreign nations buying property in Spain, with a result of 3.35% of transactions made by foreigners. At this point, it is also worth mentioning that, of all nations, Poles recorded the highest year-on-year increase of 1.48 pp.
Coast of Spain most popular
The Autonomous Communities with the highest proportion of purchases by foreigners were the Balearic Islands (34.38%), the Canary Islands (28.60%), the Community of Valencia (26.82%), the Region of Murcia (19.09%), Andalusia (15.03% ) and Catalonia (13.56%). This means that out of a total of 133,000 property purchase transactions in Andalusia, foreigners are responsible for more than 20,000! Only the Community of Valencia boasts a better result, with 6,000 more transactions.
Looking at individual provinces, the largest shares of property purchases by foreigners were recorded by: Alicante (41.75%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (34.95%), Balearic Islands (34.38%) , Málaga (33.48%), Girona (28.21%) and Las Palmas (22.55%).
13.75% of home purchases in 2022 were formalised by foreigners, the highest historical figure, breaking the downward trend of recent years. 10.13% of all house purchases by foreigners, on the other hand, reached an amount of €500,000 or more (8.96% in 2021).
Poles invest in Spanish real estate
For the first time in history, Poles have made such a strong presence and position on the Spanish property market. It is worth noting that, for the first time, our compatriots were among the TOP10 foreign investors in as many as four Spanish autonomies:
- Andalusia: 2.73% (9th place),
- Region of Murcia: 2.37% (8th place),
- Community of Valencia: 5.99% (7th place),
- Canary Islands: 5.28% (5th place).
Although the largest share of Poles fell on the Community of Valencia, we are extremely pleased with the high position of Andalusia, where our compatriots purchased more than 540 properties – a huge proportion of which fell on the coast, as we confirm from the long experience of Agnes Inversiones – the largest Polish real estate agency on the Costa del Sol.
Which properties do Poles prefer?
Foreigners are less likely than Spaniards to buy property from the primary market. Their share of transactions by non-residents was 15.53%, compared to 18.34% for Spaniards. However, when it comes to the preferences of Polish investors, new properties are much more popular. Data from the Registradores de España shows that one in five properties bought by our compatriots (21.28%) came from the primary market. Only the Belgians (24.46%) and the Dutch (21.96%) can boast a better ratio.
If we look at the data on the characteristics of flats, Poles definitely prefer larger properties. Most, as much as 30% of the properties in Spain purchased by our compatriots are flats of 60-80m2. This is followed by properties of more than 100m2 (24%) and then flats of 40-60m2 (21%) and 80-100m2. Small studios and studio flats of less than 40m2 are by far the least popular – their share in all Polish transactions was just 6.9%. The data thus clearly shows that Poles in Spain value comfort and convenience.
For more information on the current situation in the Spanish property market, visit our blog.
