The era of low interest rates might be over, and the new normal seems to be a cost-of-living crisis, but the number of foreign buyers in Spain is still 37% above the pre-pandemic five-year average.
The latest figures from Spain – for Q1 of 2024 – show that the number of home purchases by foreign buyers was down 7% year-on-year, but 32% higher than 2019, according to Land Registry data published by Spanish Property Insight, a market analyst.
According to the Housing Ministry, which breaks down foreign buyers into expats and foreign non-residents (FNR), expat buyers were down just 1% and FNRs (mainly buying second-homes) down 4%.
By region, the year-on-year change in transactions (Housing Ministry) showed that the Canaries (-17%) and Andalusia dipped the most at (-9%) with the Balearics and Valencia region fractionally down at -0.1% but Murcia the stand-out performer at +7%. In Murcia average prices are lower than in Andalusia and the Balearics, showing how affordability is king.
It is interesting to note that Irish (+11%) and Ukrainian (+8%) buyers increased the most, whilst the French (-24%) and Russian (-20%) buyers declined the most, followed by the USA. British buyers were down a more modest -11 %.
For aplaceinthesun.com, the most popular areas of Spain for property searches remains very similar to our annual indexes of hot spots. The top three regions are Valencia, Andalusia and Murcia, whilst the five most in-demand locations are Torrevieja, Estepona, Villamartin, Marbella and Orihuela Costa.
The reasons that Spain remains popular includes the weather, lifestyle and affordability. With the sterling: Euro exchange rate at a perky 1.19 at the time of writing your pound does go further right now. The cost of living in Spain is currently 31 per cent lower than the UK, according to the number.com country-by-country comparisons. Restaurant prices are 40 per cent higher in the UK.
Read more in our Buying Guide to Spain, search for properties in Spain, or book a ticket for A Place in the Sun Live at the Birmingham NEC in September to kick-start your property search.
Read more:
- Why now is a good time to purchase property abroad
- How to move to Spain: a simple step-by-step guide
- The SIX biggest myths about moving to Spain post Brexit
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