Where are foreigners buying properties in Spain in 2022?

Which nationalities are active? Are they residents or not? Which nationalities are buying Real Estate in Spain? What price do they pay?

Europeans are buying properties in Spain as never: 137,000 properties bought by foreigners. Of course, we see many Europeans active as usual and the United Kingdom is still the first country to buy properties in Spain. A new trend is that we see foreigners coming from further: Latin America with Argentina and Venezuela, America and China are there too. Americans are benefitting from a steep discount: the euro is cheaper by 20% in 2022 vs the dollar.

A quick reminder before starting this interesting subject, please remember that if you want to buy a property in Spain, you need an NIE number, read our detailed article for more information: Your ultimate guide to your Spain NIE number – NIE Spain. Another interesting article we would recommend: How to buy a property in Spain as a foreigner? At Howtobuyinspain.com we have the best experts in our network to assist you everywhere in Spain. As you will see in this article, we have the best tools and database to know where the market is and what are the trends. Thanks to that, we help our customers to make the best deals in Spain.

As for all our articles, in this article, you will find interactive charts showing detailed data with a mouse click on it and we have static charts available for download. Please note that our interactive charts have always the most recent data as they are linked to our databases. Of course, our static charts are regularly updated.

1. Which nationalities are buying properties in Spain?

The Statistical Information Center of Notaries in Spain has just released its last report on Foreigners’ activity in the property market.

What was the activity in the Spanish real estate market up to June 2022?

• 703,331 property transactions for the last 12 months: +18% yearly growth
• property activity by Spaniards increased by 13% year-on-year to 562,956
• property activity by foreign buyers increased by 47% year-on-year to 136,921
• This equals 19% of all the property transactions that occurred in Spain.
• 45% of the transactions were carried out by non-resident foreigners and 55% by foreigners living in Spain!

Spaniards and Foreigners are very active: both are buying the most since 2008:

Quarterly statistics of the “Ministerio de Fomento”.

Which are the most active nationalities within the EU buying properties in Spain?

For the last 12 months to the end of June 2022, the most active nationalities were :

• the British with 11.2% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Germans with 10.3% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the French with 8% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Romanians with 6.7% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Italians with 5.9% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Belgians with 5.2% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Dutch with 4.9% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• and the Swedish with 4.2% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,

Check our foreigners’ profiles and buyers guides: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Belgians Chinese Dutch English French Germans Italians Moroccans
Romanians Russians Swedish?

Discover the best new build projects in Spain available right now

Most active nationalities outside the EU buying real estate in Spain

The proportion of purchases was also high by foreigners outside the EU:

such as Morocco (7.7%), China (2.6%) or Russia (2%), America (1.6%) and other countries outside the EU 11.2%

If you want to live in Spain, have a quick check at our interesting article on the Golden Visa: Golden Visa in Spain: Your ultimate guide!

Don’t forget to hedge your currency smartly if you are buying from outside the European zone.

Here you go, a quick check of all the nationalities:

Here is the same info reproduced with a pie chart:

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

Which nationalities are buying more properties during the last 12 months to June 2022?

Of course, Europeans are very active in the property market in Spain. Most Europeans come from northern countries. A more recent trend we noticed at howtobuyinSpain in 2022 with many new customers flowing in: Americans are buying actively everywhere in Spain, thanks to the weak Euro vs Dollar. Yes, the Euro lost 20% this year, not bad for Americans looking for bargains. Have a look at our paper written by our property hunter in Madrid for more on that: Americans are buying properties in Madrid.

Here are the countries increasing the most their property purchases in Spain in 2022 vs 2021 (last 12 months to June):

• Netherlands +101%
• Germany +81%
• Ireland +95%
• Norway +72%
• Denmark +70%
• USA +69%
• Sweden +66%
• Switzerland +62%
• Argentina +45%
• France +41%
• Belgium +36%
• UK +36%
• China +31%

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

Which nationalities are less active during the last 12 months to June 2022?

All countries have a positive growth

Here is the evolution of the purchases done by each nationality since 2008

This was the situation end of 2016 when we wrote this article for the first time: we keep the same top 3 nations.

Foreigners living in Spain are more active

• Foreigners living in Spain recorded 74,643 operations, 26% more than one year before.
• Non-resident foreigners bought 62,278 properties, an increase of 84% year-on-year.

This is quite a strong vote of confidence by foreigners living in Spain! Of course, they work there and it is easier for them to buy than non-resident foreigners. Covid had its impacts: people wanted to remote work from a nice place if they could: Spain is a nice option. Others wanted to enjoy a better quality of life: more space, more sun, a better quality of life… while of course, the cost of living in Spain is much lower than in many places in the world and in Europe. For more on that, read our articles: Which are the cheapest cities to live in Spain? The cost of living in Spain vs the UK, Relocate to Spain? Spain is one of the best countries in the world for relocating and for working remotely.

1. Best Professionals 2. Follow up 3. Competitive pricing 4. Partners 5. Qualitative Check

Check our chart analyzing who is more active in the Spanish property market: Foreigners or Spaniards with the evolution since 2007 (the year before the crisis):

2. Where are foreigners buying properties in Spain?

What are the main regions in Spain where foreigners are buying real estate?

Same info in a downloadable format:

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

What is the evolution of each region in Spain during the last 12 months to June 2022?

Check the property transaction growth for each region in Red (right scale) with the number of transactions in Blue (left scale)

Most active regions – The biggest activity of 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 the fourth quarter of 2021 are

• The Balearic Islands with 39% of all transactions,
• The Canary Islands with 26% of all transactions,
• The Valencian Community with 24% of all transactions,
• Murcia with 17% of all transactions,
• and Andalusia with 13% of all transactions.

Check our interactive chart on that:

Most active cities where foreigners are buying the most real estate in Spain vs Spaniards?

According to the “Colegio de Registradores de la Propiedad”, the cities where foreigners are the most active (vs Spaniards) in the fourth quarter of 2021 are:

• Alicante
• The Balearic Islands
• Malaga
• Tenerife
• Girona
• Murcia
• Almeria
• Las Palmas
• Castellon
• Tarragona
• Barcelona
• Lleida
• Valencia

Check our interactive chart on that:

Source

Which Spanish regions are the most popular for which nationalities?

We did the ranking for the 12 most active countries in Spain.

Check the evolution of the foreigners’ activity per region since 2007:

Remember the infographic we did on the subject last year, it remains nearly the same in 2018!

3. What price do foreigners pay to buy a property in Spain?

Check the evolution of the price paid for each Spanish region since 2007 by foreigners:

The average price per square meter of properties bought in Spain by foreigners increased by 2% year-on-year to June 2022. The acceleration of real estate prices was recorded both among property transactions done by non-residents and by residents, although the former paid higher prices than the second ones, € 2,522/ m² against € 1,622 / m², respectively (with an average of € 2,062/ m²)

This price discrepancy between foreigners living in Spain and not living in Spain could come from many factors:

• Non-residents are buying top-notch second homes in more expensive locations: expensive cities and premium areas with sea views and large terraces for instance. They are going for the best properties on the market.
• Non-residents who are buying a second home in Spain are wealthy and have a higher budget from start.
• Non-residents are buying newbuild properties in Spain and newbuild properties are more expensive than resale,
• Some new “resident foreigners” relocate to Spain because of the high quality of life in Spain and the low cost of real estate in Spain. So they are looking to start a new life they can afford and will go for low-cost properties inland. Read more on that in our article: Which are the most expensive and cheapest cities to live in Spain?

You can check the evolution of the price per square m paid by foreigners (resident or not in Spain) and Spaniards (resident or not in Spain) since December 2007 (the year before the crisis) on this chart:

In terms of levels, the average price per square meter paid by foreigners continued to register strong differences between each region. End of June 2022, it was below the national average
of € 1,741 in 12 of the 17 Regions. Please note that the average paid per square meter by foreigners is € 2,062.

Regions under €1,000:

Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Castilla y León, Aragón and Galicia.

Regions between € 1,000 and the national average paid by foreigners for real estate €1,741

Murcia, Asturias, Navarra, Cantabria and the Valencian Community

Regions above the national average for properties in Spain € 1,741

• The Canary Islands €2,195,
• Catalonia €2,249,
• Basque Country €2,230,
• Madrid €2,893,
• and Baleares €3,894.

Interestingly, all those regions are areas of interest to foreigners apart from the Basque Country, a region much appreciated by the French.

Let’s have a closer look at current property prices (value written in Blue on the chart) and at the price evolution (left scale) for each Spanish region for one year. The regions are Alphabetically sorted.

As you can see from the chart we just showed: prices are increasing everywhere.

Spanish regions with the fastest increasing prices over the last year to June 2022

Spanish regions with decreasing prices over the last year

• None

If you want to read more on the subject and you missed our paper of last semester: Which are the top 10 Spanish cities where foreigners are buying properties NOW? And don’t miss our property buyers guide written for any foreign country.

Source: Read the full paper in Spanish here.

Who are the foreigners paying the most in Spain for their properties?

As of June 2022, here is our alphabetical ranking of real estate prices paid by foreigners in Spain:

• People from Argentina pay on average 1759 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Belgium pay on average 2104 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from China pay on average 1741 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Denmark pay on average 2870 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Ecuador pay on average 1198 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from France pay on average 2149 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Germany pay on average 2657 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Ireland pay on average 2092 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Italy pay on average 2103 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Morocco pay on average 694 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from the Netherlands pay on average 2252 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Norway pay on average 2701 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from other countries in EU pay on average 2148 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from other countries in the world (outside EU) pay on average 2015 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Portugal pay on average 1782 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Romania pay on average 1097 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Russia pay on average 1989 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Sweden pay on average 2701 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Switzerland pay on average 2567 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from the UK pay on average 2003 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Ukraine pay on average 1612 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from the USA pay on average 2837 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.

Here is our downloadable infographic on that:

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

Of course, there are many reasons to explain those differences:

• The region where those nationalities are buying on average,
• The location of the property: sea view? countryside? within a city?
• The type of properties: villa or apartment, newbuild or resale, with terrace or plot or not,…

So, those are just “statistics” but they are interesting as price discrepancies between foreigners are quite big when foreigners buy properties in Spain.

4. How to start your property search in Spain?

Here is our A to Z must-read guide: Our ultimate 2022 guide to buying your property in Spain.

At HTBIS, we assist foreigners with their property search in Spain thanks to our network of local partners: legal advisers, tax advisers, property hunters and much more. Discover all our partners here.

Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

FAQ

The post Where are foreigners buying properties in Spain in 2022? appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Where are foreigners buying properties in Spain in 2022?

Which nationalities are active? Are they residents or not? Which nationalities are buying Real Estate in Spain? What price do they pay?

Europeans are buying properties in Spain as never: 137,000 properties bought by foreigners. Of course, we see many Europeans active as usual and the United Kingdom is still the first country to buy properties in Spain. A new trend is that we see foreigners coming from further: Latin America with Argentina and Venezuela, America and China are there too. Americans are benefitting from a steep discount: the euro is cheaper by 20% in 2022 vs the dollar.

A quick reminder before starting this interesting subject, please remember that if you want to buy a property in Spain, you need an NIE number, read our detailed article for more information: Your ultimate guide to your Spain NIE number – NIE Spain. Another interesting article we would recommend: How to buy a property in Spain as a foreigner? At Howtobuyinspain.com we have the best experts in our network to assist you everywhere in Spain. As you will see in this article, we have the best tools and database to know where the market is and what are the trends. Thanks to that, we help our customers to make the best deals in Spain.

As for all our articles, in this article, you will find interactive charts showing detailed data with a mouse click on it and we have static charts available for download. Please note that our interactive charts have always the most recent data as they are linked to our databases. Of course, our static charts are regularly updated.

1. Which nationalities are buying properties in Spain?

The Statistical Information Center of Notaries in Spain has just released its last report on Foreigners’ activity in the property market.

What was the activity in the Spanish real estate market up to June 2022?

• 703,331 property transactions for the last 12 months: +18% yearly growth
• property activity by Spaniards increased by 13% year-on-year to 562,956
• property activity by foreign buyers increased by 47% year-on-year to 136,921
• This equals 19% of all the property transactions that occurred in Spain.
• 45% of the transactions were carried out by non-resident foreigners and 55% by foreigners living in Spain!

Spaniards and Foreigners are very active: both are buying the most since 2008:

Quarterly statistics of the “Ministerio de Fomento”.

Which are the most active nationalities within the EU buying properties in Spain?

For the last 12 months to the end of June 2022, the most active nationalities were :

• the British with 11.2% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Germans with 10.3% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the French with 8% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Romanians with 6.7% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Italians with 5.9% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Belgians with 5.2% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• the Dutch with 4.9% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,
• and the Swedish with 4.2% of the property purchased by foreigners in Spain,

Check our foreigners’ profiles and buyers guides: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Belgians Chinese Dutch English French Germans Italians Moroccans
Romanians Russians Swedish?

Discover the best new build projects in Spain available right now

Most active nationalities outside the EU buying real estate in Spain

The proportion of purchases was also high by foreigners outside the EU:

such as Morocco (7.7%), China (2.6%) or Russia (2%), America (1.6%) and other countries outside the EU 11.2%

If you want to live in Spain, have a quick check at our interesting article on the Golden Visa: Golden Visa in Spain: Your ultimate guide!

Don’t forget to hedge your currency smartly if you are buying from outside the European zone.

Here you go, a quick check of all the nationalities:

Here is the same info reproduced with a pie chart:

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

Which nationalities are buying more properties during the last 12 months to June 2022?

Of course, Europeans are very active in the property market in Spain. Most Europeans come from northern countries. A more recent trend we noticed at howtobuyinSpain in 2022 with many new customers flowing in: Americans are buying actively everywhere in Spain, thanks to the weak Euro vs Dollar. Yes, the Euro lost 20% this year, not bad for Americans looking for bargains. Have a look at our paper written by our property hunter in Madrid for more on that: Americans are buying properties in Madrid.

Here are the countries increasing the most their property purchases in Spain in 2022 vs 2021 (last 12 months to June):

• Netherlands +101%
• Germany +81%
• Ireland +95%
• Norway +72%
• Denmark +70%
• USA +69%
• Sweden +66%
• Switzerland +62%
• Argentina +45%
• France +41%
• Belgium +36%
• UK +36%
• China +31%

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

Which nationalities are less active during the last 12 months to June 2022?

All countries have a positive growth

Here is the evolution of the purchases done by each nationality since 2008

This was the situation end of 2016 when we wrote this article for the first time: we keep the same top 3 nations.

Foreigners living in Spain are more active

• Foreigners living in Spain recorded 74,643 operations, 26% more than one year before.
• Non-resident foreigners bought 62,278 properties, an increase of 84% year-on-year.

This is quite a strong vote of confidence by foreigners living in Spain! Of course, they work there and it is easier for them to buy than non-resident foreigners. Covid had its impacts: people wanted to remote work from a nice place if they could: Spain is a nice option. Others wanted to enjoy a better quality of life: more space, more sun, a better quality of life… while of course, the cost of living in Spain is much lower than in many places in the world and in Europe. For more on that, read our articles: Which are the cheapest cities to live in Spain? The cost of living in Spain vs the UK, Relocate to Spain? Spain is one of the best countries in the world for relocating and for working remotely.

1. Best Professionals 2. Follow up 3. Competitive pricing 4. Partners 5. Qualitative Check

Check our chart analyzing who is more active in the Spanish property market: Foreigners or Spaniards with the evolution since 2007 (the year before the crisis):

2. Where are foreigners buying properties in Spain?

What are the main regions in Spain where foreigners are buying real estate?

Same info in a downloadable format:

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

What is the evolution of each region in Spain during the last 12 months to June 2022?

Check the property transaction growth for each region in Red (right scale) with the number of transactions in Blue (left scale)

Most active regions – The biggest activity of 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 the fourth quarter of 2021 are

• The Balearic Islands with 39% of all transactions,
• The Canary Islands with 26% of all transactions,
• The Valencian Community with 24% of all transactions,
• Murcia with 17% of all transactions,
• and Andalusia with 13% of all transactions.

Check our interactive chart on that:

Most active cities where foreigners are buying the most real estate in Spain vs Spaniards?

According to the “Colegio de Registradores de la Propiedad”, the cities where foreigners are the most active (vs Spaniards) in the fourth quarter of 2021 are:

• Alicante
• The Balearic Islands
• Malaga
• Tenerife
• Girona
• Murcia
• Almeria
• Las Palmas
• Castellon
• Tarragona
• Barcelona
• Lleida
• Valencia

Check our interactive chart on that:

Source

Which Spanish regions are the most popular for which nationalities?

We did the ranking for the 12 most active countries in Spain.

Check the evolution of the foreigners’ activity per region since 2007:

Remember the infographic we did on the subject last year, it remains nearly the same in 2018!

3. What price do foreigners pay to buy a property in Spain?

Check the evolution of the price paid for each Spanish region since 2007 by foreigners:

The average price per square meter of properties bought in Spain by foreigners increased by 2% year-on-year to June 2022. The acceleration of real estate prices was recorded both among property transactions done by non-residents and by residents, although the former paid higher prices than the second ones, € 2,522/ m² against € 1,622 / m², respectively (with an average of € 2,062/ m²)

This price discrepancy between foreigners living in Spain and not living in Spain could come from many factors:

• Non-residents are buying top-notch second homes in more expensive locations: expensive cities and premium areas with sea views and large terraces for instance. They are going for the best properties on the market.
• Non-residents who are buying a second home in Spain are wealthy and have a higher budget from start.
• Non-residents are buying newbuild properties in Spain and newbuild properties are more expensive than resale,
• Some new “resident foreigners” relocate to Spain because of the high quality of life in Spain and the low cost of real estate in Spain. So they are looking to start a new life they can afford and will go for low-cost properties inland. Read more on that in our article: Which are the most expensive and cheapest cities to live in Spain?

You can check the evolution of the price per square m paid by foreigners (resident or not in Spain) and Spaniards (resident or not in Spain) since December 2007 (the year before the crisis) on this chart:

In terms of levels, the average price per square meter paid by foreigners continued to register strong differences between each region. End of June 2022, it was below the national average
of € 1,741 in 12 of the 17 Regions. Please note that the average paid per square meter by foreigners is € 2,062.

Regions under €1,000:

Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, Castilla y León, Aragón and Galicia.

Regions between € 1,000 and the national average paid by foreigners for real estate €1,741

Murcia, Asturias, Navarra, Cantabria and the Valencian Community

Regions above the national average for properties in Spain € 1,741

• The Canary Islands €2,195,
• Catalonia €2,249,
• Basque Country €2,230,
• Madrid €2,893,
• and Baleares €3,894.

Interestingly, all those regions are areas of interest to foreigners apart from the Basque Country, a region much appreciated by the French.

Let’s have a closer look at current property prices (value written in Blue on the chart) and at the price evolution (left scale) for each Spanish region for one year. The regions are Alphabetically sorted.

As you can see from the chart we just showed: prices are increasing everywhere.

Spanish regions with the fastest increasing prices over the last year to June 2022

Spanish regions with decreasing prices over the last year

• None

If you want to read more on the subject and you missed our paper of last semester: Which are the top 10 Spanish cities where foreigners are buying properties NOW? And don’t miss our property buyers guide written for any foreign country.

Source: Read the full paper in Spanish here.

Who are the foreigners paying the most in Spain for their properties?

As of June 2022, here is our alphabetical ranking of real estate prices paid by foreigners in Spain:

• People from Argentina pay on average 1759 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Belgium pay on average 2104 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from China pay on average 1741 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Denmark pay on average 2870 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Ecuador pay on average 1198 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from France pay on average 2149 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Germany pay on average 2657 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Ireland pay on average 2092 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Italy pay on average 2103 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Morocco pay on average 694 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from the Netherlands pay on average 2252 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Norway pay on average 2701 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from other countries in EU pay on average 2148 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from other countries in the world (outside EU) pay on average 2015 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Portugal pay on average 1782 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Romania pay on average 1097 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Russia pay on average 1989 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Sweden pay on average 2701 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Switzerland pay on average 2567 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from the UK pay on average 2003 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from Ukraine pay on average 1612 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.
• People from the USA pay on average 2837 € per square meter for their properties in Spain.

Here is our downloadable infographic on that:

Source: Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado de Espana

Of course, there are many reasons to explain those differences:

• The region where those nationalities are buying on average,
• The location of the property: sea view? countryside? within a city?
• The type of properties: villa or apartment, newbuild or resale, with terrace or plot or not,…

So, those are just “statistics” but they are interesting as price discrepancies between foreigners are quite big when foreigners buy properties in Spain.

4. How to start your property search in Spain?

Here is our A to Z must-read guide: Our ultimate 2023 guide to buying your property in Spain.

At HTBIS, we assist foreigners with their property search in Spain thanks to our network of local partners: legal advisers, tax advisers, property hunters and much more. Discover all our partners here.

Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

FAQ

The post Where are foreigners buying properties in Spain in 2023? appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Click on any flag to get an automatic translation from Google translate. Some news could have an original translation here: News Nouvelles Nieuws Noticias Nachrichten

 

How to pay in £,$,¥ Pounds, Dollars, Francs, Yuan for my € Spanish property?

How to transfer my cash efficiently to Spain?

 

Many foreigners: British, Canadian, American, Swiss, Israeli, Moroccan, Chinese, Russian, have a different currency at home than the Euro

 

Long term, it is a very good diversification strategy to have some assets like real estate in another country, and furthermore in another currency, than in your home country.

Most of your assets are in your home country but:

• Economic cycle is different in Spain than in your home country
• Inflation is different in Spain than in your home country
• Monetary policies are different in Spain than in your home country
• Euro is used by more than 300m people in Europe

 

 

In order to help you check the long-term evolution of the main currencies against Euro, we have created a table with up to date Sterling, Ruble, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone, Dollar, Yuan and Shekel long-term evolution against Euro.

Check what happened to the Sterling after the Brexit vote in 2016. For sure, the British who bought some properties in Spain before the Brexit vote were pleased of that diversification.

If you are buying a property in Spain, in the short term, this means that you will have some currency volatility and some costs to cover if you are investing from outside the EU zone. Have a look at this paper on why currencies are volatile and how you can manage it.

In 2021, about 15% of the properties bought by foreigners in Spain are bought by the British.

After feeling the effect of the Brexit vote that happened on the 23rd of June 2016, British were less active on the Spanish real estate market and the pound lost 10% of its value vs the Euro, Check a chart on the Sterling evolution vs Euro here from Reuters. Of course, in 2020, activity was much lower due to Covid. But end of 2021, activity was really strong. Anyway, they remain by far the first nationality in terms of purchases done by any foreign country.

Foreigners are buying their property in Euro while having their home currency in their bank account.

 

Book your free appointment with the currency hedging specialist

 

What are the solutions for foreigners buying real estate in Euro with a different home currency?

1. Ask their bank to exchange their home currency into euro and to transfer the funds to Spain
2. Benefit from lower exchange rates thanks to the online platforms like Currencytransfer.com to convert their home currency into Euro and to transfer the funds to Spain

 

HowtobuyinSpain negotiated with them so that customers get a preferred rate for their property purchases.

 

What are the biggest advantages of the later?

• No commission system, much lower final cost than with a bank taking a commission for converting your currency into Euro AND for wiring the funds to Spain
• No hidden fees: the exchange rate includes a small margin form mid-bank rate
• Get the best price available at any time on the market: Many well-known FCA regulated currency providers compete for the flow
• Segregated account: your money is on a transit account bearing your name of a FCA regulated currency entity, it is never on the balance sheet of the platform itself.
• Transfer the correct amount in the local currency
• A dedicated relationship manager will help you out to manage your hedging the most efficiently as corporations do.
• You can instruct your Relationship Manager to wait for your precise exchange rate, (to gain more or to lose less)
• If your account is open, you can lock a rate once your account is open and transfer the money after

 

 

Why Currencytransfer?

For all the foreigners looking to buy with non-Euro currencies as Sterling, American Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Shekel, Yuan, Ruble, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone and other Asian currencies,… when you are buying a property in Euros, you will need to exchange your currency into Euros and transfer the money to buy your property. Most of the time, this involves huge bank costs: up to 5% and mostly close to 3%.

Have a look at our partner based in London: Currencytransfer.com! We have negotiated with them the best service and the best rates for our customers. They take a very low commission rate and transfer the funds without any costs. You can create your account for free and lock your exchange rate into Euros even before wiring funds with your local currency. Have a look at their website and don’t forget to mention “HTBIS” in the field “Where did you hear about us?” to get the best rates we negotiated with them for the members of our network.

Ask our partner what is the most efficient strategy to hedge your currency risk

How does it work in practice?

1. Open your free account on Currencytransfer.com and mention HTBIS code in the field “Where did you hear about us” to get the best rates,
2. Lock an exchange rate between your local currency and Euro (or instruct a threshold exchange rate to be traded later)
3. Wire the funds in your local currency on your segregated account in a top tier bank
4. Receive the funds in Euro on your account in Spain, on the account of your lawyer,…

 

Let’s have a look at an example of trade with CurrencyTransfer.com

Let’s say you’re a British looking to purchase your second home in Spain at a cost of €200,000.

• • STEP 1 You book a deal on the CurrencyTransfer platform to buy €200,000 at an exchange rate of €/£ 0.8800. This will cost you £176,000.
  • STEP 2 Behind the scenes, your selected FCA payment provider buys €200,000 from one of its market counterparties to ensure they have funds available to honour your deal.
  • STEP 3 The next step is to pay your winning payment provider the £176,000. You pay this directly to their Segregated Client Account. These are all secure, separate client accounts, held with stable, tier-1 banks (such as Barclays or RBS). This ensures that your money is safe from any business liabilities that the payment provider could be affected by.
  • STEP 4 With your payment of £176,000 now safe in the payment provider’s Segregated Client Account, the broker now needs to pay the €200,000 that you booked across to your Spanish lawyer, notary or even your own Spanish account on the date that you have chosen.
  • FINISH Once the payment has been delivered to the beneficiary the transaction is complete

 

As of January 2022, here is the business update from Currencytransfer

• • Clients: 6,500+
  • Currencies: 28
  • Value of the currencies exchanged by the group since start: more than £3 bn
  • *Average saving: £1,260
  • Proud to have saved our clients over £15 million in hidden currency fees

 

 

Other uses? Transfer cash (minimum €10.000) to relatives everywhere around the world.

 

Looking for a lawyer, an architect, a property hunter in Spain? Ask us directly!

 

Stéphane

Senior analyst and strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

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The post How to pay in £,$,¥ Pounds, Dollars, Francs, Yuan for my Spanish property? appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Other nations’ profiles: What are the ideal Spanish properties for Belgians Chinese Dutch English French Germans Italians Moroccans
Romanians Russians Swedish?

Chinese property buyer’s guide in Spain

The 10 things you should know before buying your Spanish property!

We make it easy for you to buy your dream property in Spain thanks to our knowledge and our network of local partners.

How active are Chinese on the Spanish property market? What properties do they like? What are the most loved Spanish regions by Chinese? How much do they pay? Do they prefer new build properties or resale? Do they need a mortgage for financing? How should they buy? What are the 9 steps to buy a property in Spain?

First, let’s analyse the Second Home purchases by Chinese in Spain

Both foreigners and Spaniards are very active on the property market in Spain.

In 2018, foreigners bought close to 100.000 properties in Spain.

Spaniards and Foreigners are buying the highest number of properties in 2018 vs any year since the crisis of 2008, have a look at our chart: more than 570.000 properties were bought, 16% of the purchases by foreigners.

100,000 properties bought by foreigners in 2018. Why foreigners are so active in Spain?

We have listed at least 13 reasons why foreigners are buying properties in Spain. Of course, you’ll find sea, sun, beaches, nice quality of life… but investment return is important as we explain here: What return will you make on your Spanish Property in 2019?

How active are Chinese on the Spanish Real estate market? 4,600 properties bought in 2018

According to the “Consejo General del Notariado” in Spain, Chinese are buying 13 properties per day, or about 4,554 for the last 12 months up to December 2018, in Spain. It is nearly 4 times more than in 2008.

How much do they pay for their properties? €1,683 m²

The price they pay on average is €1,683 per square meter. They pay just a little bit more than other foreigners buying properties in Spain. Check the evolution over the last 12 years.

Of course, depending on the region, price paid by foreigners per square meter is changing a lot. The Balearic Islands is the most expensive region if you want to buy a second home in Spain. Another factor to take into account for the price is if the property is a new build property or a resale.

Real estate prices in Spain are not any more in crisis

we have a stable and even growing market in many Spanish regions

If you want to know more about the property prices in all the Spanish cities, please check our Quarterly report on the Spanish property prices.

What are the most loved Spanish regions by Chinese?

Chinese love to buy in the two biggest Spanish Cities: Madrid and Barcelona. A reason for that, of course, most of Chinese buy their main home and not a Second Home. So they are in Spain for work and not for pleasure.

Where are foreigners buying in Spain? In which Regions, in Which Cities?

Foreigners are actively buying properties in many Spanish cities: for Alicante, Tenerife, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Girona, they represent more than one transaction out of 4.

Here are the most active regions

Here are the most active cities

If you want to read more on the subject: Which are the top 10 Spanish cities where foreigners are buying properties?

What properties do they like? 70m²

Most Chinese, 1 out of 3 buy properties between 60 and 80 square meters. It is nearly the same statistic for the surfaces between 80 and 100 meters.

Do Chinese prefer Spanish new build properties or resale? 83% Resale

17% of Chinese go for a new build property, 83% for a resale

Looking for a new build property? Discover the best new build projects available in Spain on our portal.

sold directly by renowned developers at their best prices.

EXCLUSIVE LAUNCH OFFER: Purchase any property and receive €3,000!

Looking for a resale? We have many local property finders ready to help.

Let’s have a look at the 6 reasons why a personal real estate shopper in Spain will be very helpful for your property search.

Property finders in Spain

Do Chinese take a mortgage for their Home? €111,000

39% of the property purchases done by Chinese in Spain are done with a mortgage. For the transactions with a mortgage, the mortgage size is €110,685.

If you want to learn more on how to get the best mortgage deal, read our seminal paper: Your definitive guide to your Spanish mortgage rate: How to apply, how to get the best rates?

If you want to directly ask a free quote to our partner, don’t hesitate. Ask our partner a mortgage quote for a Spanish property.

Buying in Spain is easy, once you found your property, here are the 9 steps to your Spanish Property

1. Get your NIE “Número de Identificación de Extranjeros”, read our article on this: “Your ultimate guide to your NIE number“.

2. Find a lawyer speaking your language and Spanish: Looking for an property lawyer in Spain? Check all our partners here!

Find your property lawyer in Spain

3. Open a Bank account, Need some currency hedging?

4. Do you need a mortgage? Your Spanish Mortgage: How to apply? How to get the best rates?

5. Sign the “contrato de Reserva”

6. Important checks of the property with experts

7. Get your mortgage confirmed

8. Sign the “contrato de Arras”

9. Go to the Notary for signing the contract for the purchase of the property

If you want to look at our detailed article: ” The 9 Steps before buying your Spanish property“.

How much does it cost to buy a property in Spain?

The short answer is 10% to 14% of the property value. Read our detailed article on that subject: What is the real cost of buying your Spanish Property?

How much does it cost to be an owner of a property in Spain?

The short answer is around 1% of the property value per year. Learn more in our detailed article: What is the real cost of owning your Spanish property?

Download our exclusive pdf report: Chinese property buyer’s guide in Spain: what are the ideal Spanish properties for the Dutch? Where do they buy? How much do they pay?

Register to our YouTube channel in Chinese and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

Looking for an expert in Spain: Lawyer, Architect, Property Hunter, Mortgage? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior Analyst and Strategist at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

The post Chinese property buyer’s guide in Spain appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in English and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in French and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in German and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Romanian and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Italian and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Dutch and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture Register to our YouTube channel in French and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Moroccan and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Swedish and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Chinese and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Russian and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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?

Register to our YouTube channel in Dutch and get all our useful animated videos – click on the picture

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

The post The most loved Spanish regions for the foreigners’ properties: British, French, German,… appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Who are the foreigners living in Spain in 2018?

Get all our useful animated videos and register to any of our YouTube Channel in your mother language:

What is the current population of Spain in 2018?

As of June 2017, 51.2m people live in Spain: 22.8m are Spanish men and 23.7m are Spanish women. Spain has 4.7m registered foreigners living in Spain as of January 2018. Let’s have a look at the different origins of the communities living in Spain: of course, we will find the usual suspects: Europe and Africa due to the long history they have with Spain and due to the proximity of those regions. Of course, South America is on the list as well as Spain share a long history and the language with many of those countries.

If you intend to live in Spain, remember you may need a Visa or if you want to buy a property, you will need a NIE number, even if you are European. Have a quick look at our articles on that:

• Golden Visa in Spain: Your ultimate guide to your Golden Visa!
• Your ultimate guide to your Spanish NIE number.

Who are the foreigners living in Spain, from which region of the world do they come?

1. Europe 2.1m people
   1. European Union, 1.8m people
   2. Europe (outside Union) 0.3m people
2. Africa, 1.1m people
3. America, 1.2m people
   1. South America, 0.8m people
   2. Central America & Caribbean, 0.3m people
   3. North America, 0.1m people
4. Asia, 0.4m people

Have a look at our infographic with the different regions of the world

Who are the Europeans living in Spain in 2018?

1. Romania has the biggest community with 0.7m citizens
2. England and Italy have 0.2m citizens each
3. Bulgaria, Germany, Ukraine, France Portugal, Russia are the next countries with 0.1m citizens each
4. Poland, Netherlands and Belgium follow

Who are the Africans living in Spain in 2018?

1. Morocco has the biggest community with 0.8m citizens
2. Senegal and Algeria follow with under 0.1m citizens each
3. Nigeria has less than 0.05m citizens

Who are the Americans living in Spain in 2018?

1. Colombia has the biggest community with 0.2m people
2. Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, Honduras, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Peru follow with under 0.1m citizens each
3. Cuba and the United States of America have less than 0.05m citizens

Who are the Asians and other nations living in Spain in 2018?

1. China has the biggest community with 0.2m citizens
2. Pakistan has a community of 0.1m citizens

Have a look at our infographic with the different nationalities living in Spain, close to 120 countries!

What are the top 5 Spanish Cities for real estate purchases by foreigners in 2018?

Remember our paper on what are the top 10 Spanish cities where foreigners buy property?

The top 5 Spanish Cities are (up to June 2017)

1. Alicante with #18.847 transactions (23% of transactions by foreigners)
2. Malaga with #10.761 transactions (13% of transactions by foreigners)
3. Barcelona #7.332 transactions (9% of transactions by foreigners)
4. Madrid #6.301 transactions (8% of transactions by foreigners)
5. The Balears #5.910 transactions (7% of transactions by foreigners)

Apart from Alicante at the first place, all the other cities are in the top 5 for the airport ranking.

Foreigners love to work in Spain: remember our paper: What are the top Spanish cities for foreigners looking to work in Spain?

Have a look at our last papers related to the foreigners real estate transactions in Spain:

• What are the most loved Spanish regions for the foreigners’ properties: British, French, German,…? Check our ranking for the top 12 countries
• Who are the foreigners buying properties in Spain? Where do they buy? What price do they pay?
• How to buy a property in Spain as a foreigner?

Check our resources before booking your holidays in Spain

Find a lot of useful information, hours of sun per year, Unesco sites in Spain, transport network, and much more on our page “10 reasons why you should want to buy a property in Spain”

Find all our papers and infographics on the Spanish Costas with all the useful activities:

Our infographics on city trips in Alicante, Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona:

Before picking a city for your holidays, have a look at the monthly weather statistics on the top 20 Spanish Cities here:

Last but not least, read all our “Summer articles for enjoying all the nice places of Spain”

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística

Looking for a lawyer, fiscal expert, architect, property hunter,… or any expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Stéphane

Senior Analyst and Strategist at HTBIS

Check the full team of HTBIS here

The post Who are the foreigners living in Spain in 2018? appeared first on How to buy in Spain.

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is the third biggest city in Europe behind London and Berlin.

The capital of Spain is one of the cultural centres of the country with its museums like the Reina Sofía, its theatres like the Teatro Real or the majestic Palacio Real Madrid. Even though it might not have the sea like Malaga or Alicante, neither it had a genius architect that changed the shape of the city as Gaudí did for Barcelona. Its location, right in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, makes any corner of the country available with less than 7 hours drive.

Why would you buy a property in Madrid?

Its mix of Continental and Mediterranean climate makes the weather in Madrid more tempered than most of the other European capitals. In an interview with the Spanish newspaper “El Boletín”, the commercial director of Lucas Fox International Properties in Spain, Rod Jamieson, said “everyone loves Madrid, its weather and architecture together with its gastronomy, its theatres… foreign investors are discovering Madrid, and now, when people talk about Spain, they don’t only think of Barcelona, they also think about the capital and its charming atmosphere”.

These reasons have attracted property buyers from all over the world to Madrid. Among them are people from the USA, Western Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Most buyers from the US are Spanish speakers, who already have houses in Miami and are looking for those in Europe. They choose Madrid because people there also speak Spanish.

Another factor could be the cost of living in Madrid, which is way lower than in many capital in the world, while at the same time salary are strong.

Who are the buyers? British, French, German, Russian

The Brexit has also caused a boom in the real estate market, and more British people are buying houses in the capital of Spain nowadays. Joaquín Guisado Vélez, a real estate expert of Navacasa, points out that:

“right now British buyers represent the 20% of the market. French, German, Russian and Italian follow behind. Also there has been an increase of Chinese buyers compared to 2011.”

Foreigners are active on the market as you compare price evolutions of Spain vs other international markets. Check it on our trend section: the property prices in Spain are still much lower than the prices paid 10 years ago!

Have a look at our 10 Year ranking of Spain vs all other European markets as of September 2016:

What about the Business districts?

As the capital of the country and the third biggest city in Europe behind London and Berlin, Madrid has three well-marked business districts: Centro, Chamartín and Nuevos Ministerios. Most of these offices have been there for a long time, so they don’t have a direct effect on the residential real estate market.

There are new office buildings blooming in the suburbs of the capital. Because of them some of these areas are developing their facilities and public transportation. There is also an increase in the apartment prices.

How much does a property in Madrid cost?

The square meter price in Madrid is around 2.600€, and it is expected to grow 5% this year. But, of course, Madrid is a big city, with more than 3 million people, and price depends on the location, it could be less or more expensive. Let’s have a closer look at it:

• The centre of the city is more expensive than the suburbs, with a price at around 3.500€ per square meter.
• Salamanca, Chamberí and Chamartín have an average price of 4.000€ per square meter.
• Other non-centrical districts like La Latina, Villa de Vallecas and Carabanchel are among the cheapest districts, with prices around 2.000€ per square meter.

Check the real estate prices of Madrid vs Spain

As you surely read it in our news published in January, for the first time since 2007, Real Estate returns are back in positive territory: the expected return end 2016 was 8,4% according to the Central bank of Spain.

Where will you find some of the nicest neighbourhoods?

Salamanca, Centro, Chamberí and Chamartín are the most centrical districts. You will find all the facilities to enjoy an easy life: some of the best museums and theatres, hospitals, schools, restaurants and bars, supermarkets, etc. These centrical districts also have the best options for transportation and they are not far from train station Atocha. From here it is easy to get to every corner of Spain! It is the centre of the high-speed railway system “AVE”, you can get to Sevilla or Barcelona in only three hours! Read more on that in our article: 25 years of fast train in Spain.

The district of Retiro is still a good choice for those looking for a place close to the centre. It’s laid-back life makes it a perfect place for those, who want to be near to all the facilities that the centre offers and at the same time to live in a quieter neighbourhood. The park of Retiro is the most popular green area of Madrid.

For those looking for tranquillity and willing to live not far from greenery, Moncloa and the Northeast area of the city are the perfect districts. Public transports bring you to the centre of the capital.

If you want to invest in the Spanish real estate market in Spain, don’t hesitate to read our special report with the 10+ reasons why you should have a look at the Spanish property market.

Do you want to check the yearly weather statistics in Madrid before buying? Check our Infographic.

Have a look at our ePostcards before planning your next holidays in Spain.

Get your insights right to your mailbox? Register for our newsletter: https://howtobuyinspain.com/en/newsletter/

Looking for an expert in Spain? Ask us directly!

Raimon

Senior journalist and writer at HTBIS

Check the full HTBIS team here

The post Real estate foreign investors are discovering Madrid appeared first on How to buy in Spain.