It’s no secret that foreign buyers have helped the Spanish property market flourish in recent years.
In 2024, that was no different, with purchases made by non-Spaniards accounting for 14.6% of all home sales.
That is just below the all-time record of 14.98% set in 2023, according to property portal Idealista.
Traditionally, the Brits have led the way in terms of the foreign market, thanks to the nation’s long-held love affair with the country.
Following Brexit in 2016 and the end of freedom of movement, a number of prospective buyers from the UK changed or delayed their plans to buy in Spain.
While it has seen the number of British buyers in Spain fall slightly over the past few years, they remain the most prominent.
According to the latest data from the Spanish Land Registry, Brits accounted for 8.64% of sales to foreigners last year.
They were followed by Germans (6.7%), Moroccans (5.7%), French (5.4%), Dutch (5.35%), Romanians (5.12%) and Italians (5.1%).
Some 93,000 homes were sold to non-Spanish people last year, meaning Brits accounted for more than 8,000 purchases.
Hot locations
One of the most popular regions among foreign buyers was the Balearic Islands, where 32.6% of sales were to non-Spanish buyers.
This was followed by the Valencian Community (28.9%), the Canary Islands (27.2%), Murcia (23.6%), Catalonia (16.3%) and Andalucia (14%).
Meanwhile, Alicante stands out as the hottest location in Spain for foreign property buyers.
Last year, a staggering 43.8% of home sales were made to non-Spaniards.
The province is hugely popular with British expats and includes the popular resort of Benidorm.
The other leading provinces in terms of foreign buyer purchases were Santa Cruz de Tenerife (33.1%), the Balearic Islands (32.6%), Malaga (32.4%), Girona (27.1%), Murcia (23.6%), Las Palmas (22.3%), Almería (19.8%), and Tarragona (16.9%).
