From July to September 2024 alone, our compatriots purchased 1,296 houses and flats in Spain, 30% more than in the previous quarter of 2024 and up 62% more than in the same period of 2023. According to Registradores de España data, Poles ranked just behind the podium of foreign investors – in 4th place, with a market share of 5.32% in Q3 2024.
2024 a year of records
However, this is not the end of the records – for in 2024, Poles have already bought 3101 properties in Spain, 26% more than in the same period of 2023 and almost as many as in the whole of last year, which ended with a then record 3118 properties.
In the province of Malaga, which also includes the Costa del Sol, foreign buyers purchased one in three properties. This means similar popularity to the Balearic Islands and a level twice as high as the Spanish average. The podium is traditionally occupied by the UK, Germany and Morocco, with the Poles – in fourth place – ahead of Italy and France.
– Marbella and the Costa del Sol are dream places to live, which is confirmed not only by the market data, but also by the increasing interest from our compatriots. The post-holiday months are the second period of the year – apart from January – when more secondary market house and flat offers appear on the market. The primary market is also very popular, as investments in the best locations quickly increase in value,” says Agnieszka Marciniak-Kostrzewa, founder of Agnes Inversiones – the largest, oldest and most recognisable Polish real estate agency on the Costa del Sol, which this year celebrates 18 years of presence on the Spanish market.
Data from Agnes Inversiones shows that the primary market dominated in Q3 2024. Among the most frequently purchased were flats of between 100 m2 and 300 m2, priced between €450,000 and €4.5 million, and detached houses of between 250 m2 and 600 m2, costing between €1.5 million and €5 million. On the Costa del Sol, however, there is no shortage of transactions to purchase residences for €10 million or even €15 million.
A peculiarity of the Spanish market is its high stability, which is confirmed, among other things, by Eurostat data. In the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same period of 2023, property prices on the Iberian Peninsula increased by 7.9%. In the same period in Poland, this increase was as high as 17.7%. The cost of living in Spain is also lower than in other European countries. At the same time, locations such as Marbella provide a very high level of education or medical care.
More than 100 000 Poles in Spain
The share of Poles in the Spanish property market has been increasing over the years, from 1.6% in 2019 to nearly 3.6% in 2023. In absolute numbers, this meant 3118 houses and flats on the Iberian Peninsula bought by our compatriots in 2023. This was driven, among other things, by the popularisation of remote working after the pandemic, as well as the desire to diversify assets geographically after the aggression against Ukraine in 2022. Last year’s results have already almost been equalled in 2024, so it promises to be another Polish record in Spain.
The Polish community on the Iberian Peninsula already numbers around 100,000 people. As Agnieszka Marciniak-Kostrzewa points out, this is visible not only in the statistics of property purchases. There are Polish shops and restaurants on the Costa del Sol, the magazine ‘Hola Polacos’ is published, and every year in Fuengirola the finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity is held, which in 2024 attracted more than 1,200 participants.
Andalusia, the Costa del Sol and Marbella are unique spots on the map of Spain, which breaks tourist records year after year. However, the sunshine coast is alive with its own mode and not only in high season. On the Costa del Sol, it lasts almost all year round, with sunshine for more than 320 days, excellent golfing conditions or the proximity of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where the ski season starts as early as November.
