Market Trends of Spain Residential Real Estate Industry
Rise in International Property Buyers in Spain
Spain is a popular, safe, and stable international destination for visitors, investors, and those looking to relocate with a rich cultural tradition. International interest from buyers both inside and outside the European Union is increasing. Real estate regained popularity, especially in seaside resorts and Spain's major cities. In terms of investment, Madrid, Valencia, and Malaga are the provinces with the highest possibilities for recovery.
Other places, on the other hand, are expected to recover quickly. The Balearic Islands and Barcelona, for instance, are two of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. British property buyers, especially British retirees, were the foreign nationals who contributed the most to real estate investment in Spain. Now the situation changed, and many are selling their properties.
In the second quarter of 2021, the British continued to lead the investment rankings, according to the Land Registry, accounting for 9.5% of total purchases in the country. The total number of foreign buyers in Spain in the second quarter of 2021 was just over 13,600. While the numbers of foreign buyers are still below pre-pandemic levels, data from the Spanish Land Registry (Registradores) shows the proportion of foreign buyers across the country on a whole increased by 0.23 percentage points, from 9.52% in the first quarter of 2021 to 9.75% in the second quarter of 2021. It also suggests that international buyers are beginning to return.
Centro de Información Estadstica del Notariado provided statistical figures on real estate sales for the second half of 2021. The data presented in the research shows that real estate sales to foreign buyers surged by 41.9% in Spain. Due to a 27.4% growth in the number of foreign purchasers residing in Spain, the Spanish real estate market is looking positive in terms of annual yield. Additionally, the percentage of homes bought by non-resident foreign buyers increased by 64.5%, reaching 54.8%. The Balearic Islands attracted the highest interest in sales of real estate. The Balearic Islands experienced the most significant increase in real estate sales with 81.5%, Authentic Andalusia with 55%, and the golden state Valencia with 44%, followed after.
Housing sales growing substantially in the country driving the market
The sale of dwelling homes in Spain increased by 38.1% in 2021, reaching 676,775 units, and the average price per sq m increased by 5.3% to EUR 1,507 (USD 1601.04) per sq m, while mortgage loans for housing acquisition increased by 35.7%. Flat sales climbed by 38.2% Y-o-Y to 507,209 units, while single-family home sales increased by 37.8% Y-o-Y to 169,566 units in 2021. The prices of flats increased by 3.6% in 2021 compared to 2020, reaching EUR 1,701 (USD 1807.15) per sq m, while the cost of single-family homes averaged EUR 1,195 (USD 1269.57) per sq m, registering an increase of 10%.
For the first time since 2014, the sale of brand-new houses exceeded the barrier of 100,000 operations. According to the INE, there were precisely 115,038 sales, 37.7% more than in 2020. In 2021, on average, seven autonomous communities saw their operations rise by more than 34.6%. Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Madrid, Cantabria, Andalusia, and La Rioja were among them. The latter saw the most significant increase, with 42.7% more properties sold than in 2020. On the other hand, the Basque Country saw an annual gain of 15.8%. According to the statistics on transfers of property rights from the National Research Institute (INE), the sale of houses increased by 40.6% in September 2021 compared to September 2020. In the first nine months of 2021, home sales increased by 37.6%.
Approximately 23,000 residential real estate transactions were registered in Madrid during the first quarter of 2022. This was a slight decrease from the previous quarter when the record number of 25,000 homes were sold.
