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Last Updated on 18/07/2023 by STEPHANE

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Buying a property in Spain?

How to proceed as a foreigner and benefit from the Spanish real estate opportunities?

Don’t forget that after this unpleasant forced period of staying-at-home, foreigners will reassess their life priorities and could decide to get more sun and buy a property in Spain as a holiday home or even to spent part time of the year there or why not relocate completely?

This is the fifth article of our dedicated reports on the Coronavirus and its impacts on the Spanish real estate. Here is our main article: the Spanish Housing Market post-Covid-19 and here is our introduction paper: What are the impacts of Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate?

The ideal Spanish property for foreigners in a post-Covid-19 world are

• It is close to the beach
• It is maximum a one hour drive from an airport
• It has some private outside space: terrace, garden, a pool
• Close to sports and children facilities
• Close to restaurants and shops
• Has a nice view
• Close to a city, but not inside!

What will be the foreigners’ activity on the Spanish real estate market in 2020 and 2021?

Lower foreigners’ activity short term

At the same time, foreigners financial activity, which represented 15% of transactions in 2019, will be less active in 2020 for two main reasons:

• The travel ban
• The purchase of a second home is not “essential” in a difficult economic environment and buyers could decide to wait for uncertainties to decrease before pulling the trigger.

It is important to note that 90% of the transactions made by foreigners are either on the Spanish Coasts or in Madrid.

Long term higher foreigner activity?

After the Corona Crisis, individuals are waking up and deciding what they want to do with their lives.

We think that all of the advantages that have made Spain an ideal destination for property purchases will remain: 320 days of sun, beaches, cheap real estate prices, cheap living costs, high quality of life… and this is only a few things. Foreigners living in northern Europe will continue to buy properties in Spain to relax during their holidays.

Related 10+ reasons for buying a home in Spain

So, from our perspective, many foreigners will reassess their life choices and take this crisis as an opportunity to relocate full time or part-time to Spain and benefit from the bigger supply of qualitative properties on the market to pick the right one at an even better price.

Will 320 days of Sun and beaches disappear due to Covid-19?

At the same time, the main reason why foreigners buy remains valid: people buy in Spain to escape from the bad weather in their home countries and enjoy the sun 320 days per year.

Cash is king

Cash-rich investors will continue to take advantage of the benefits of investing in Spanish real estate: good yields and low prices for international cities…Read our analysis written in January 2020, comparing Spanish cities with other European cities for a deeper analysis on that: What return will you make on your Spanish Property in 2020?

Are you buying your dream property in Spain?

Since we started to invest in Spain in 2012, we have built a network of local real estate experts in Spain and become the one-stop-shop solution for foreigners looking for help to buy a property in Spain.

As foreigners ourselves, we have built this network first to find the solution for ourselves… and following that we wanted to share our network and experiences with other foreigners.

Since our launch in 2017, our readership grew to more than 170,000 and we have customers and readers from more than 210 countries around the world! We are extremely pleased with this result.

Is it expensive to buy a property in Spain?

Your first question before buying your property will be: Does it cost a lot to buy a property in Spain? Here is our detailed answer: “The cost of buying a property in Spain“.

Your second question will be: Does it cost a lot to keep your Spanish property? Check our paper: “The cost of owning a property in Spain“.

How can you seize potential opportunities?

So, if you are a buyer, we think that opportunities should arise within the next 6 to 18 months, depending on the timing of the economic recovery. The best ones should be newly built properties, as promoters adjust pricing to get deals done (while keeping the same high-quality standards, as the real estate projects have improved a lot since 2007).

Discover the best new build projects in Spain available right now

Our advice

Stay picky for the main qualities and characteristics of your property, but at the same time don’t hesitate to negotiate on the price. Of course, should the economy remain bad (let’s reassess in 9 months), opportunities could become much bigger.

Are bank repossessed properties back to Spain?

Where should you buy your property in Spain?

Of course, you have to find your dream place, here are some articles we wrote to help you out:

• The top 10 Spanish cities where foreigners love to buy properties!
• Who are the foreigners buying properties in Spain in 2019? Our detailed analysis
• Which are the cheapest cities to live in Spain?

Discover the Spanish Costas thanks to our detailed articles and infographics we wrote on all the Spanish Costas.

Find all our best Spanish Costas infographics: Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Costa Barcelona, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands,…

Is it easy for a foreigner to buy a property in Spain?

There are 9 steps before buying a property in Spain: The 9 steps to your Spanish Property

It is cheap and easy to buy a property in Spain if you have support from local experts speaking your language.

The experts from our network are active in nine fields:

1. Property finders: 6 reasons why a personal real estate shopper in Spain will be very helpful for your property search
2. B&B Learn how to start your B&B in Spain
3. Lawyers: Why do you need independent legal and tax partners for your property acquisition in Spain?
4. Tax: Why do you need independent legal and tax partners for your property acquisition in Spain?
5. Architects
6. Money Transfer and Currency risk hedging: How to pay in £,$,¥ Pounds, Dollars, Francs, Yuan for my Spanish property?
7. Get a mortgage in Spain: Your definitive guide to your Spanish mortgage. How to get the best rates?
8. Insure your Spanish property
9. Property survey for technical due diligence on your Spanish property

So a few questions specific to the Corona Crisis:

Do I need to travel to Spain to buy my property?

No, your legal representative in Spain can represent you for your property purchase and your mortgage.

Don’t miss our interesting articles on property acquisition in Spain:

• Our top 10 pieces of advice for buying your property in Spain
• Top 8 tips for not wasting money when you buy in Spain

Last but not least, don’t miss our Spanish property buyers guides written for the top 10 nations active in Spain:

• British property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Germans property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Romanians property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Belgians property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Italians property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Moroccans property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Swedish property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Russians property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Chinese property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Dutch property buyer’s guide in Spain
• Le guide de l’acquisition immobilière en Espagne pour les Français
• Le guide de l’acquisition immobilière en Espagne pour les Belges

The Spanish housing market post-covid-19

This concludes our report on What are the new dream homes for foreigners in a post-Covid-19 world?

To end our series on the impact of the Coronavirus on the Spanish real estate, we will cover those topics:

• Are distressed sales back in Spain due to Covid-19 as in 2008?
• Mortgage financing conditions update in a post-Covid-19 world

Last but not least, don’t miss the core of our research: our in-depth analysis of the Spanish Housing Market post-Covid-19.

Don’t neglect the basic recommendations to keep yourself and others safe:

• • 2. 2. 1. 1. 1. 1. • maintaining a social distance of 2 m,
                      • regular hand washing,
                      • cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze,
                      • avoid touching your face after touching hard surfaces where the virus can live.

Looking for a mortgage or a local expert in Alicante, Malaga, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona,…? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here