The annual “European Real Estate Market Outlook” report, prepared by CBRE, indicates forecasts for the real estate sector and summarises the situation on national markets. It also compares their investment attractiveness in the segments of flats, houses or commercial real estate. How does this look in the case of Spain, and how does Poland compare?
Spain and Poland
The authors of the report point out that investments by individual clients are key in the market. Larger players are mainly interested in premium and luxury properties. Hence, they place their funds in attractive locations such as the Mediterranean coast. In the case of Spain, which ranked just behind the podium of the most attractive markets, there is no shortage of transactions where clients choose to buy a second home – for most of the year for rental purposes. Spain is one of the three countries in Europe that is the most popular choice for holiday home buyers.
The attractiveness of property in Spain is also boosted by the growing popularity of remote working and the change in its mode – especially among younger workers. “Digital nomads” are willing to relocate every year or even every few months, getting to know new cultures and new people. In the Spanish property market, we are increasingly seeing clients deciding to make a definitive move to the Iberian Peninsula, choosing the Costa del Sol after having previously rented a long-term property in the area. This trend is also evident among Poles.
The analysis also highlights the Polish property market. In 2023, our country was one of the few in Europe where property prices did not fall. While in Western Europe, in the United States, housing prices tended to fall or recorded slight fluctuations, in the Vistula, they rose all the time. Analysts pointed out that, among other things, access to credit (including the 2% Safe Loan) encouraged many Poles to buy property. According to CBRE experts, Poland is the third most attractive real estate market in Europe.
Spain’s dynamic property market
In Spain, it is estimated that a property changes hands up to every five years. According to the publication “Residential mobility in Poland”, the countries of the Iberian Peninsula are in the middle of the European pack in terms of the average duration of use of an inhabited property. The French and the Dutch were more likely to change their place of residence, while Poles were much less likely to do so. However, this has changed over the years and is also due to the availability of property in the country or its region.
At the same time, during the whole of 2023 alone. Poles purchased more than 3,000 properties in Spain, including nearly 700 between October and December, consolidating their leading position in this market. This is proof that Poles are increasing their residential mobility and are also investing funds in properties in other European countries. In Q4 2023, this gave them a share of 3.35% of the Spanish market, which translated into ninth place. The top three were the British (9.8%), the Germans (7.32%) and the French (6.06%).
