Foreign homebuyers pull back from Spain as property prices continue to climb

Overseas property purchases fell as Spain's property market cools following the end of the Golden Visa scheme

Foreign buyers are purchasing fewer homes in Spain, but those who do are paying increasingly high prices. New figures from Spain's General Council of Notaries show that foreign nationals bought 62,327 homes between January and June 2026, representing 18.3% of all property sales across the country.
That share is down from 19.2% in the first half of 2025 and 20.3% in 2024, suggesting that international demand is gradually losing ground in Spain's housing market.

The biggest fall has been among buyers who live abroad. Non-residents purchased 22,940 homes during the first six months of the year, 18% fewer than in the same period of 2025. It's the lowest figure for a first half of the year since 2021, following an increase in overseas investment after the pandemic.

The Mediterranean coast remains a favourite

Despite the slowdown, Spain's Mediterranean coast continues to attract plenty of overseas buyers. The Valencian Community accounted for 9,250 purchases by non-residents, representing 40.3% of all transactions made by this group nationwide.

Andalucía followed with 5,800 purchases, while the Canary Islands recorded 2,046. The Region of Murcia also featured prominently, with 1,780 homes bought by foreign non-residents, ahead of Cataluña's 1,777.

However, the Valencian Community has experienced one of the sharpest overall falls in foreign home purchases, down 15.4% in the first half of the year. Only Cantabria, the Canary Islands and Madrid recorded larger declines, with the Balearic Islands seeing the same reduction.

British buyers are stepping back

British home buyers remain an important part of the market, but their activity has fallen considerably. Non-resident British buyers purchased 2,388 homes in the first half of 2026, compared with 3,296 a year earlier.

The end of Spain's Golden Visa scheme may be one factor behind the drop in overseas property purchases, but British buyers have also faced changes since Brexit. Restrictions on how long UK nationals can stay in Spain without residency, along with currency fluctuations, have made buying property or spending longer periods here more complicated for some. British purchases fell by 21% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year.

Moroccan nationals have also overtaken the British as the largest foreign buyer group nationally, with 4,960 purchases during the period. British buyers came second with 4,541, followed by Italians with 4,109.

Buying a home in Spain is getting more expensive

But the decrease in sales hasn't brought prices down. Non-resident foreigners paid an average of €3,493 per square metre, up 11.8% in a year. That's around 77% more than the €1,971 paid by Spanish buyers.

Foreign nationals living in Spain paid an average of €2,102 per square metre, following a 9.8% increase.

Foreign residents also bought fewer homes, with transactions falling by 9.7% year on year. Yet the price gap between overseas buyers and those living in Spain has widened to a record €1,391 per square metre.

There were exceptions to the general decline in purchases. Venezuelan buyers increased their activity by 10.2%, while Colombian buyers recorded a 7.4% rise.

For Spain's housing market, the figures point to a clear change in overseas demand. International buyers still account for a substantial share of sales, particularly along the Mediterranean coast, but rising prices and changing investment incentives appear to be influencing how many are willing to buy.

Images: Archive