American demand for Spanish property rises 25%

Americans’ love affair with Spain is well-known, and interest in Spanish property is soaring.

Data from the USA has shown that interest in Spanish property among American buyers has increased by 25% since the Presidential election on November 8.

According to LucasFox.com, there has been a surge in American interest in the four weeks since the election compared to the four months before. While the President-elect Donald Trump is certainly not everybody’s cup of tea, experts believe that there is more to the growth in interest than mere fear of a new president…

While there has been some disillusion stateside at Trump’s victory, the fact that a number of new low-fare airline routes are opening up between the West Coast of the USA and Spain next year is also having an impact, said Lucas Fox co-founder Alexander Vaughan.

“It is still early days to see whether this will be a consistent trend,” Vaughan said. “The US election seems to have provoked a similar spike in interest for Spanish property as the EU referendum did for Brits. But the four new routes being offered by Norwegian Airlines in 2017 will be taken advantage of by Americans.”

American buyers can benefit from Spain’s Golden Visa system that was introduced in 2013. The Golden Visa grants non-EU nationals the right to Spanish residency if they invest at least €500,000 in Spanish property. This has long been an attractive carrot for would-be buyers from the USA, Russia and China, and will likely play a part in sustaining American interest in Spanish property over the next few years.

“Spain offers a richness of culture and architecture, the lifestyle, the food, the wine, the endless festivals, evening strolls and street life,” remarked 44-year-old American lawyer Robert Edwards, who has been a beneficiary of Spain’s Golden Visa scheme. “You don’t find ancient stone villages or Romanesque churches in America. And prices are low, especially once you leave Madrid and Barcelona.”

According to LucasFox, there has been a 30% increase year-on-year in sales to American buyers between January and November this year, with the Barcelona market proving most attractive, followed by Madrid and Málaga.

“There is particularly strong demand for new and newly renovated homes,” said Vaughan. “Not only do these turnkey properties have the potential for decent capital gains, they can generate both long-term and short-term rental income throughout the year.”