In the past four years, and beginning 6 years after the economic downturn in 2008, Spain has seen significant growth in real estate sales, especially from foreign buyers and investors. Foreigners have been purchasing real estate in Spain in record numbers. In fact, in the early months of 2018, the Spanish notary data showed that there were 53,359 property purchases made by non-Spaniards—the highest figure recorded since 2007.
The heavy growth in property sales can be attributed to Spain’s recent economic rise and rebound from the financial crisis that lasted from 2008-2014. Since the end of the crisis, however, the property market in many Spanish regions has registered double-digit growth on a year-to-year basis. The government actively encourages foreigners to purchase and invest in Spain by streamlining the acquisition process and, indeed, constantly improving the state of tourist attractions and public facilities. The use of real estate SEO and marketing in Spain also played a significant role in attracting international buyers, as more real estate agencies use digital strategies to promote properties to a global audience.
To purchase a property, a foreigner—whether residing in Spain or not—would only need to have an NIE (a personal identification number) which can be acquired at a police station when in the country, or at a Spanish Consulate outside of Spain.
Although the property market of Spain has seen significant changes and growth over the past few years, one thing has not changed, and that is the nationality of most foreign buyers. Statistics have shown that over the years, the British have constituted the majority of the property purchases made by foreigners. This is followed by the French, Germans, Belgians, and Dutch. Succeeding these nationalities are buyers from Romania, Morocco, China, and Russia. The nationalities that have shown the highest year-on-year growth are Irish and Danish.
The following data published by the Statistical Information Center of Notaries in Spain shows the activity of the real estate market as of 2018:
- Property transactions for the last 12 months leading up to June of 2018 show a steady yearly growth of +12%
- Property transactions by Spanish have experienced an accelerated increase of 13% year-on-year
- Property transactions by foreign buyers experienced an accelerated increase of 9%
As for location, the Valencia region—or places within the province of Alicante—leads the list, with nearly one out of three property sales taking place in the region. It is also the region with the highest year-on-year growth, at 16.7%. Though buyers have different purposes and preferences when it comes to purchasing property, the major reason for the Valencia region gaining the most sales in real estate can be attributed to the Costa Blanca. For the latest updates and insights on the real estate market in the area, keeping up with Costa Blanca News at CBSage can provide valuable information for both buyers and investors.
Listing from South to North the most popular areas and towns for property purchases include Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja, Finestrat for new builds, Benidorm, Albir, Altea, and the La Marina area that includes Calpe, Moraira, Benissa, Javea, and Denia.
Other regions that have also experienced an increase in property sales growth include Andalusia, with an increase of 8.2%, and Madrid, in which property sales by foreign buyers experienced a growth of 5.4%.
