Foreign nationals continue to show strong interest in buying property in Spain. According to the latest notary data, in the first half of 2025 they concluded more than 70,000 purchase-and-sale transactions, which accounts for 19.3% of the total.
Record prices for foreign buyers
In addition, foreigners have never paid so much for the residential property they purchase: the average price reached €2,417/m2 – 7.6% more compared to the same period last year. Excluding transactions involving Britons, Moroccans and Germans, who buy the most homes in Spain, the Chinese stand out for paying the highest price since the beginning of this year.
Non-resident and resident Chinese buyers: how much they pay and how much they buy
Thus, Chinese buyers who do not live in Spain purchased a total of 148 residential properties from January to June 2025, paying on average €4,116/m2. This is the highest figure for a half-year period and the second-largest amount paid by non-resident Chinese buyers since notaries began keeping records. At the same time, as of April 2025, Spain stopped issuing residence permits to non-EU non-residents based on buying property worth more than €500,000 under the “Golden Visa” program, which was in force from 2013 to 2025.
On the other hand, Chinese citizens living in Spain paid much less for their homes – an average of €2,081/m2. However, this is the highest price at which they have purchased housing since the “bubble” emerged in 2008 on the Spanish real estate market. In addition, they set a new record by buying more than 2,420 properties in just six months.
How Idealista assessed demand from Chinese citizens
After reviewing these data, Idealista examined the preferences of Chinese citizens and the areas with the highest household incomes where they search for housing to buy. To assess demand, the share of visits to the portal by users browsing it in Chinese was analyzed in relation to the total number of visits by users in foreign languages.
As it turned out, housing searches on Idealista in 2025 (up to the third quarter) by Chinese citizens remain almost stable compared to the whole of 2024. The share of searches in Chinese in regions with an income of up to €30,000 per year is growing (51.1% of visits in Mandarin) and for the first time exceeds half of Chinese demand for housing in Spain. At the same time, interest in regions with annual income from €30,000 to €50,000 fell by one point (to 43.4%), and in places where it exceeds €50,000 decreased by just half a point (to 5.5%).
The peak share of demand in Chinese (6.4%) for higher-income regions was reached in 2023. In general, buyers of Asian origin prefer to buy housing in large cities rather than on the outskirts or along the coast.
Madrid: high-income districts and demand
For example, in Madrid, Chinese citizens showed interest in almost 20 districts with an average income of more than €50,000 per year. Among the most popular areas, 5% of total foreign demand from Chinese citizens living outside Spain falls on:
- Peñagrande (€5,016/m2) and La Paz (€5,195/m2) in Fuencarral;
- Valdebebas – Valdefuentes (€5,351/m2) in Hortaleza;
- Salvador (€6,224/m2) in San Blas.
In other high-income areas of the Spanish capital where foreign demand is significant and exceeds 15% – such as Almagro (Chamberí) or Recoletos and Castellana (Salamanca) – and where the price of resale housing exceeds €10,000/m2, the share of interest from Chinese citizens falls to 1–2%.
Madrid suburbs: where interest rises sharply
At the same time, outside Madrid, Chinese buyers’ interest in housing searches increases sharply. Among all municipalities in the autonomous community, Boadilla del Monte stands out, where Chinese accounts for almost 17% of search queries. Particular interest here is in:
- El Olivar de Mirabal (23%)
- Sector B (19.7%)
- Viñas Viejas (19.5%)
- Parque Boadilla (18.5%)
where housing prices can exceed €3,500/m2.
Along with Boadilla, one of the municipalities drawing increased interest from Chinese buyers is Majadahonda. This is especially true for the Los Satélites – Rosa Martín area, where 20% of buyers search for homes in their own language. Also among the main preferences are the northern part (8%) and the Carretera del Plantío area (6%) with average prices above €4,000/m2.
In Pozuelo de Alarcón, these are the residential developments Montealina (14.8%) or La Cabaña (10%), where average prices exceed €4,600/m2, and in Las Rozas (>€3,000/m2) – Monte Rozas (9.5%) and El Pinar-Punta Galea (8.4%). Finally, in Alcobendas-Norte (>€4,880/m2) Chinese buyers’ interest reaches 8.7%, and in Arroyo de la Vega, in the La Moraleja urbanization (>€5,200/m2) – 9.5%.
Barcelona and surrounding areas
Barcelona has fewer districts with the highest household incomes (over €50,000 per year). Among them, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi should be noted, where the average price is €6,661/m2. Here, the share of demand from Chinese citizens exceeds 2%.
At the same time, it reaches 3% in the Pedralbes district (€7,999/m2), which is one of the most expensive in Barcelona. Almost the same figure was recorded in Diagonal Mar, Front Marítim del Poblenou (€9,954/m2) and L’Antiga Esquerra (€6,739/m2).
Outside the Catalan capital, Chinese buyers are most interested in Teià and the Serraparera area in Cerdanyola del Vallès. In Teià (€3,316/m2), searches in Chinese account for 4.4% of foreign demand, while in Serraparera (€3,349/m2) this share reaches 6.7%.
