Report finds 81% increase in British demand for Spanish property

The Brits are moving back into the Spanish property market in their droves…

Figures released this week by the College of Property Registrars has revealed that the number of Brits buying property in Spain rose 81% in 2015 compared to 2014 – a staggering return to form for the market’s largest group of foreign investors…

Data released earlier this year showed that Brits accounted for 21 per cent – or one in five – of all homes sold to foreign nationals in 2015, and these latest statistics reveal just how strong the recovery has been for British buyers.

In 2015, the number of property transactions involving British buyers reached 9,956, way ahead of the numbers for last year and significantly more than the French, who purchased 4,116 homes in Spain last year, some 9% of all foreign transactions.

German buyers were the third-largest group, snapping up 7% – 3,445 – of all homes sold to non-nationals.

Demand among foreign buyers increased 11% in 2015 based on 2014 figures, and the early signs suggest that 2016 will be an even stronger year for foreign property buyers.

“The big story from last year’s foreign sales figures was the 81% increase in British demand compared to the year before,” said Spanish property expert Mark Stucklin. “The British are clearly back to being the dominant force in foreign demand, though not yet as dominant as they were in the boom years.”

Stucklin added that a combination of low Spanish property prices – some 50% down from their pre-crash peak – and the strong pound sterling against the euro have served to make the market much more attractive than it has been for a while.