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Last Updated on 18/07/2023 by STEPHANE

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Where are the different foreigners’ nationalities buying properties in Spain?

Give us your nationality and we will tell you where your compatriots are buying! Most of the time, they share your taste and are looking at the same properties. If you don’t know where to invest, check our rankings first.

Last week we did the analysis of the foreigners’ property activity in Spain for 2018:

Who are the foreigners buying properties in Spain in 2018? Which nationalities are active? Are they resident or not? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

Of course, it’s not a secret, Spain is the top holiday destination for many Europeans:

Spain is “The” number one destination for holidays for the residents of those countries

1. Ireland
2. The United Kingdom
3. Germany
4. Denmark
5. Finland
6. Sweden
7. Portugal
8. France

And of course, Spain is the second most favourite destination for many other countries.

Remember our paper: “Give us your country of origin and we will tell you how much you love Spain” on this subject.

So it’s not a surprise to find many of those countries as the top buyers of properties in Spain:

In 2018 the most active nationalities were :

• the British (14.8%),
• the French (8%),
• the Germans (7.6%),
• the Romanians (7.2%),
• the Italians (6.4%),
• the Belgians (5,5%),
• and the Swedish (4.5%).

Representing 53% of all the real estate transactions purchased by foreigners in Spain in 2018 or 103.608.

Outside the EU, the most active countries are Morocco (6.8%), China (4.4%) or Russia (3.1%).

Don’t forget to get your NIE before buying your Spanish property, more on that here: Your ultimate guide to your Spanish NIE number and of course to hedge your currency smartly if you are buying from outside the European zone.

Another interesting article we would recommend if you are serious about Spain: How to buy a property in Spain as a foreigner?

Discover the best new build projects in Spain available right now

Where are the different foreign nationalities buying their properties in Spain? Where are they buying there Second Home in Spain?

The “Colegio de Registradores” in Spain has just released its last report of Foreigners activity on the property market in 2018.

We will review those nationalities from the most active to the least active in Spain: 1. United Kingdom, 2. France, 3. Germany, 4. Romania, 5. Italy, 6. Belgium, 7. Morocco, 8. Sweden, 9. China, 10. Russia, 11. Netherlands, 12. Norway

1. Where are the British buying their properties in Spain?

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British bought 15,300 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish regions where British are the number one property buyers (as foreigners) are :

• The Valencian Community
• Andalusia
• The region of Murcia

British are the number two property buyers (as foreigners) in :

• Asturias
• The Balearic Islands
• The Canary Islands

British are active as well but in a much less degree in:

• Galicia (3rd position)
• Cantabria (6th position)
• Catalonia (8th position)
• The Madrid Community (10th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for English? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

2. Where are the French buying their properties in Spain?

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French bought 8,237 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish region where French are the number one property buyers (as foreigners) is Catalonia, this is not a surprise due to its proximity with France and due to the fact that the region is cheaper than the “Méditérannée” in France.

French are active as well in many different Spanish regions:

• Galicia (2ndposition)
• Cantabria (3rd position)
• Estremadura (4th position)
• Murcia (4th position)
• Valencian Community (4th position)
• Andalusia (5th position)
• Balearic Islands (4th position)
• Canary Islands (5th position)
• Madrid Community (5th position)
• Aragon (5th position)
• Castille and Leon (7th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for French? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

3. Where are the Germans buying their properties in Spain?

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Germans bought 7,907 properties in Spain in 2018, the top Spanish region for the Germans is without any doubt the Balearic Islands. As you may remember, The properties there are as well the most expensive in Spain. Read our last Spanish property market 2018 report on this. The second destination for Germans, where they are the third biggest foreign country in terms of buyers, are the Canary Islands, it is a little bit less expensive than the Balearic Islands.

Germans are active in many other Spanish regions:

• Andalusia (6th position)
• Cantabria (6th position)
• Murcia (5th position)
• Valencian Community (6th position)
• Catalonia (7th position)
• Asturias (9th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Germans? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

4. Where are the Romanians buying their properties in Spain?

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Romanians bought 7,427 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish regions where Romanians are the number one property buyers (as foreigners) are:

• Aragon
• Asturias
• Basque Country
• Castilla La Mancha
• Castille and Leon
• The community of Madrid
• Cantabria
• Navarre
• The Rioja

Romanians are active as well in many other Spanish regions:

• Navarre (3rd position)
• Catalonia (5th position)
• Galicia (7th position)
• Murcia (9th position)
• Valencian Community (10th position)
• Andalusia (8th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Romanians ? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

5. Where are the Italians buying their properties in Spain?

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The Italians bought 6,651 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish region where Italians are the number one property buyers (as foreigners) is the Canary Islands.

Italians are the number three property buyers (as foreigners) in many Spanish regions:

• Balearic Islands
• Madrid Community
• Estremadura

Italians are active as well in many different Spanish regions:

• Catalonia (4th position)
• Asturias (4th position)
• Galicia (4th position)
• Aragon (6th position)
• The Basque Country (7th position)
• The Rioja (6th position)
• Aragon (6th position)
• Cantabria (5th position)
• Castilla la Mancha (7th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Italians? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

6. Where are the Belgians buying their properties in Spain?

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Belgians bought 5,713 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish regions where the Belgians are the number three property buyers (as foreigners) are Andalusia, Murcia and the Valencian Community.

They are active as well in other regions:

• Canary Islands (4th position)
• Estremadura (6th position)
• Balearic Islands (9th position)
• Asturias (10th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Belgians? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

7. Where are the Moroccans buying their properties in Spain?

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Moroccans bought 7,058 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish region where Moroccans is the number one property buyers (as foreigners) is Estremadura and Navarre. They are the number two in many Spanish regions:

• Castilla La Mancha
• Aragon
• Murcia
• The Rioja

Moroccans are active as well in many other Spanish regions:

• Castille and Leon (3rd position)
• Catalonia (3rd position)
• Basque Country (4th position)
• The community of Madrid (4th position)
• Andalusia (4th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Moroccans? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

8. Where are the Swedish buying their properties in Spain?

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Swedish bought 4,710 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish regions where Swedish are the number two property buyers (as foreigners) are Andalusia and the Valencian Community and are active in other Spanish regions:

• The Balearic Islands (5th position)
• The Canary Islands (6th position)
• Murcia (6th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Swedish? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

9. Where are the Chinese buying their properties in Spain?

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The Chinese bought 4,554 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish regions where the Chinese are the number two property buyers (as foreigners) are Madrid, Catalonia, The Basque Country and Estremadura and are very active in many other Spanish regions:

• Aragon (3rd position)
• Asturias (3rd position)
• Galicia (6th position)
• Cantabria (4th position)
• Castille and Leon (5th position)
• Navarre (7th position)
• Castilla La Mancha (6th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Chinese? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

10. Where are the Russian buying their properties in Spain?

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Russian bought 3,194 properties in Spain in 2018, the three Spanish regions where Russian are buying residential properties are:

• The Valencian Community (5th position)
• Catalonia (6th position)
• The Canary Islands (8th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Russians? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

11. Where are the Dutch buying their properties in Spain?

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Dutch bought 2,971 properties in Spain in 2018, the five Spanish regions where Dutch are buying residential properties are:

• The Valencian Community (8th position)
• Andalusia (7th position)
• Catalonia (10th position)
• The Balearic Islands (7th position)
• Murcia (7th position)

Check our new detailed analysis: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Dutch? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?

12. Where are the Norwegians buying their properties in Spain?

The Norwegians bought 2,007 properties in Spain in 2018, the Spanish regions where the Norwegians are buying real estate are:

• The Valencian Community (7th position)

To sum up: What are the main regions of activity for foreigners vs Spaniards?

According to the “Colegio de Registradores de la Propiedad”, the Autonomous Communities with a greater weight of foreigners’ transactions vs Spaniards in 2018 are

• The Balearic Islands with 30.5% of all transactions,
• The Canary Islands with 28.3% of all transactions,
• The Valencian Community with 26% of all transactions,
• Murcia with 19.6% of all transactions,
• and Andalusia with 13.1% of all transactions.

Do you want to check any region in particular? Check our quarterly report on the Spanish real estate market:

Looking for a local expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here