Despite the coronavirus crisis that has been affecting the entire world for almost a year and a half now, Spain continues to inspire dreams. Indeed, even though a downturn in property activity was recorded over 2020, foreigners are still buying in Spain. This is how 46,303 purchases of properties by foreigners were recorded. Admittedly, this represents a fall of 26.3% compared with 2019, but it is not the worst recorded in recent years. In fact, this percentage matches that of 2015 and is higher than the figures corresponding to the previous crisis. These results are set out in the report by Gamerin for the Property Agents (API) and FIABCI Spain.
Where do the foreign buyers come from?
It would appear that the British are the leaders in property purchases in Spain. Indeed, their purchases account for more than 13% of those made by foreigners. Next come the French, with a share of 8.2%, and the Germans, with 7.75%. Moroccans and Belgians account for around 6.5% of the market. They are closely followed by Romanians, with 5.5%, and Italians, with 5.1%. Swedes (4.6%), the Dutch (3.3%) and the Chinese (3.1%) are the smallest investors.
Very often, these buyers all have the same objective: to own a second home or holiday home.
Which regions attract the most interest?
With 13,493 transactions carried out last year, the Valencian Community is the region that attracts the most interest. This nevertheless represents a fall of 30.3% compared with 2019. Next comes Andalusia with 9,443 purchases made across the community as a whole. Catalonia, for its part, is in third place, with 7,748 transactions recorded. The Canary Islands come a long way behind with 3,841 purchases, as do the Balearic Islands with 3,146 transactions. The Community of Madrid, in seventh place in the ranking, and Murcia hover around 2,700 acquisitions. These figures indicate the total number of purchases made across Spanish territory.
Spain, a country that continues to charm
The region that attracts foreigners the most is the Balearic Islands. Indeed, purchases made by foreigners in this area account for 29.64% of the total. In the Valencian Community, which nonetheless topped the previous ranking, they are lower. In fact, they account for 23.34% of the total. In the Canary archipelago, these purchases correspond to 22.8% and in Murcia they are around 18.5%. Catalonia records barely 12% and Andalusia, 11.6%. As indicated earlier, the Community of Madrid is struggling and obtains only 4.9% of purchases. It is in Galicia that the rate is lowest, with barely 0.8% of total purchases made by foreigners. Extremadura and Asturias are slightly above, with 1% and 2.2% respectively. Finally, in the rest of the autonomous communities, foreigners made fewer than 1,000 home purchases in 2020.
It is therefore clear that Spain continues to attract despite a long and difficult health crisis. The opening of borders to vaccinated people should help the country to revive its economic activity. Indeed, if you are fully vaccinated and have been for more than two weeks, you do not need to do anything to enter Spain or indeed to return to Belgium. You simply have to show your vaccination certificate. The same applies if you hold a recovery certificate, which indicates that you had the coronavirus less than six months ago and have recovered.
If, like other foreigners, you are interested in buying a property in Spain, Secundo can support you in this project. Fill in our enquiry form without delay and we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know about our offers.