After a complicated 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, the Spanish property market recovered with upward trends during 2021. Among all sector agents, one of the most important was the return of foreign buyers and investors.
According to the General Council of Notaries, housing transactions carried out by foreigners in the second half of the year increased by 41.9% year-on-year, reaching 63,934 operations and thus recovering their important share in the Spanish market.
Although notaries made it clear these figures are ‘heavily conditioned’ by the sharp falls experienced in the second half of 2020, they did not detract from their value since they represent a return to pre-pandemic figures. Specifically, the average number of transactions carried out by foreigners between 2012 and 2019 was 18.7%, in the last six months of 2021 it stood at 18.6%.
If data is fragmented further, we can see the existing parity between operations carried out by foreigners living in Spain, with a representation of 54.8% of the total (+27.4% year-on-year), and those carried out by non-residents (45.2%). In this case, with 64.5% growth compared to the previous year.
In terms of nationalities, the one that contributed most to home purchases was the British with a solid 11.8% of total transactions (7,560). They were followed in second and third places by German and French customers, with 10.4% and 8.3% respectively. Beyond the European Union borders, the non-EU group accounted for 11.4%. As has become customary, almost 9 out of 10 foreign buyers are from the euro area.
Lastly, another trend that continued throughout the second half of the year was the average price per square metre paid per transaction. Foreigners paid not only more than nationals but 14.3% more than in 2020, with an average of 2,016 €/m2, obtained between what was paid by non-resident foreigners (2,481 €/m2) and residents (1,567 €/m2).