Brits leading the way in investing in Spanish property

After pausing for breath in the first quarter, foreign demand for spanish property rose again in Q2, largely thanks to a surge in British demand.

Foreigners bought 11,177 homes in Spain in the second quarter, up 9% compared to the same period last year, and up 1.2% on the first quarter. Q2 was the best quarter for sales to foreigners since the boom ended.

Continuing a recent trend, the British led the charge, buying 2,215 homes in Q2, making them more than double the size of the next group of buyers – the French – who bought 907 Spanish homes in the quarter (see chart above). The British seem to get more dominant with each passing quarter, and now make up 20% of foreign demand, followed by the French on 8%.

“With these results in hand, practically one in five homes in Spain sold to foreigners are bought by the British,” explain the Registrars, who mention the strong Pound as one of the reasons why the British are returning in force.

British demand increased by 38% year-on-year, followed by Chinese demand (+26%), Itallly (+22%) and Germany (+11%). At the other end of the scale Russian demand plunged 47%, and Norwegian demand 21%. Overall, foreign demand was up 9% y-o-y.

In terms of market share, foreign demand rose from 12.22% of the Spanish property market in Q1, to 12.82% in Q2 – not the largest share on record (that was 13.88% in Q4 2014), because local demand is now rising faster than foreign demand, reducing the market share of foreign demand. “To a certain extent we see some signs of stabilisation in foreign demand, at around 13% market share,” explain the Registrars in their report.

Foreign buyers can be thanked for helping the market when local demand was in full retreat. The Registrars describe foreign demand as “one of the most dynamic factors in the Spanish property market in recent years.”

“The fact that such high rates of demand are maintained quarter after quarter clearly demonstrates the confidence and satisfaction of foreign buyers with respect to the Spanish property market,” they argue.