The share of foreign investors among home buyers in Spain has always been traditionally high, but in connection with the closure of borders and the introduction of other restrictions caused by the pandemic Covid-19, it dropped to 11.3%. Nevertheless, with the improvement of sanitary-epidemiological situation, citizens of other countries again became actively interested in Spanish residential real estate.
Predominantly these were representatives of the wealthiest segments of the population and middle class. The average cost of their purchases was 1863 euros, but should take into account that the role of the main buyers during the pandemic were not the British subjects, as it was before 2020, and the Moroccans and Romanians who have the status of a resident of Spain. The most expensive items (from 2676 to 2768 euro / sq.m.), mainly located on the Balearic Islands in the autonomous community of Madrid and Andalusia, acquired the citizens of Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Among those foreign nationals that are not residents of Spain, most of the houses and apartments in Spain in 2021, bought the French, Germans and the British. As a rule, the first ones chose Catalonia, Aragon, Basque Country and Navarra, the second chose the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, and the third – Andalusia and Murcia.
It is expected that in 2022, foreign investor demand for residential property in Spain will return to its previous level, as evidenced by the sharp increase in relevant search queries on the profile of Internet platforms (Idealista, Fotocasa, etc.). This should also contribute to the expected introduction of amendments to existing legislation on the provision of residence permits in Spain. Now be able to count on it the so-called “digital nomads” – employees of foreign companies working remotely, many of whom are likely to opt for the resort towns on the Mediterranean coasts of the country: Costa Brava, Costa del Maresme, Costa Dorada, Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.
