As confirmed by the data presented by Registradores de Espana, there was a slight decrease in property sales in Spain in 2023. However, according to experts, it was the second best year ever for the house and flat market since 2007, i.e. since the first signs of the economic crisis. Importantly, foreign buyers – including Poles – are gaining an increasing share of this market.
Spain’s property market is booming
In 2023, a total of more than 583,042 property transactions were registered in Spain. Registradores de Espana notes a slight slowdown compared to 2021 and, above all, to 2022. However, the share of foreigners in the Spanish property market is increasing. Today, purchases by non-Spanish nationals account for nearly 15% of transactions!
More and more customers from outside the Iberian Peninsula, including Poles, are choosing to buy property on the Mediterranean. Transactions by foreigners remained at a similar level to 2022. In 2023, however, they recorded a slight decrease of only -1.7% year-on-year. This does not change the fact that the past year closed with 87,400 purchases of houses and flats in Spain by foreigners.
As experts point out, this is great news for the Spanish property market, as the last 12 months were the second such period in history. This shows the continuation of the trend started in 2022, when a total of 88,858 transactions by foreigners were registered.
Foreign demand for property in Spain reached in Q4 2023. 15.1% of total sales. The results for October-December 2023 are dominated by purchases made by Brits (9.8%), followed by Germans (7.3%), French (6.1%), Belgians (5.6%), Moroccans (5.5%) and Dutch (5.3%). The Poles are also in the top ten again.
Andalusia in the lead
The Valencia region had the most transactions, closing the year with 28,000 purchases of houses and flats by foreigners. Andalusia also stands out in this respect, with just over 17,500 transactions, once again confirming its strong position. Catalonia is in third place with almost 15,000 transactions. There is no decline in foreigners’ interest in buying property in the Canary Islands or the Balearic Islands (7,000 and 5,000 transactions respectively).
In Andalusia and Catalonia, transactions by foreigners already account for 15% of all purchases made on the property market. In the Balearic archipelago, on the other hand, even more than 30% of sales are made by foreigners. According to experts, there has been a steady increase in the number of transactions carried out by representatives of other nationalities. Thus, UK nationals made one out of every 10 transactions involving foreigners, making 8,000 purchases in 2023.
The Germans exceeded 6,000 transactions, accounting for 7% of purchases by foreigners. The French, also purchasing 6,000 houses and flats, account for 7% of transactions. The top three are followed by Moroccans, Belgians, Italians, Romanians and Dutch. Here we are talking about transactions of between 4,000 and 5,000 properties, which corresponds to between 4.5% and 5.5% of all purchases by foreigners.
Poles again in the TOP10
Experts point to a steady increase in interest in property in Spain from Poles, Chinese and Ukrainians, as well as the growing involvement of clients from the United States, who in 2023 broke their previous record by completing more than 1,300 transactions in Spain. Poles made as many as 3 123, giving them a 3.35% market share. Our compatriots are increasingly choosing to buy property in Spain – not only as a holiday home or capital investment, but also as a place to live permanently in this part of Europe.
One of the things that attracts people to buy property on the Iberian Peninsula is the stability of house and flat prices. As analysts point out, the average price of flats in Spain has reached €1,963 per square metre, an increase of 1% year-on-year. Secondary market flats have even seen minimal price increases (0.2%). The figures for Q4 2023 confirm the stability of the Spanish property market and its attractiveness to potential buyers.
Interestingly, in Q4 2023, the highest prices were in the Balearic Islands (€3,496/m2), followed by Madrid (€3,280/m2), the Basque Country (€2,912/m2) and Catalonia (€2,487/m2). Hence, many foreigners choose to buy in attractively priced regions such as Andalusia. The Costa del Sol, or sunshine coast, attracts exceptional property offers, including in the first line of the sea.
