Brits bought 15% of all Spanish property sold to foreigners in first quarter of the year

Among non-Spaniards, demand for Spanish property is increasingly coming from beyond Europe.

Data from Spain’s Land Registry has revealed that British buyers accounted for 2,150 home sale transactions in the first three months of 2017 in Spain.

This figure represents 15% of all properties bought by foreigners during the first quarter (Q1) of the year, placing Brits once again out in front as the largest nationality group active in Spain’s property market…

Despite concerns that Brexit uncertainty may severely reduce demand among British buyers, the numbers are – while slightly lower in percentage terms than in 2016 – still extremely encouraging and show that Brits’ love affair with property in Spain is reassuringly strong.

Following in Britons’ footsteps were French buyers, who accounted for 10% of all foreign purchases in Spain in Q1 with 1,433 properties bought, while German buyers made up an 8% market share (1,137 purchases),

Foreign demand rose across the board for most nationalities, the data showed, except the UK, Ireland (where demand fell by 5.8%) and Ukraine. Transactions made by Italians rose a massive 57.8% – the most of any nationality.

Beyond Europe, interest in Spanish property is also rising significantly, with the Land Registry data showing that 41% of all homes sold to foreign buyers were bought by non-Europeans.

With both domestic and foreign buyers taken into account, the data showed that home sales were 14.4% higher in Q1 this year when compared to the same period in 2016.

Notably, however, the number of homes bought by foreigners rose even more sharply by 15.6%, with 14,870 Spanish homes being snapped up by non-Spaniards in the first three months of the year.