The average price paid by foreign buyers grew 4.1% year-on-year and became the highest registered since 2009 (€1,863/m²).
The sale of housing by foreigners increased by 47% year-on-year in the first half of the year, a figure conditioned by the effects of the pandemic in 2020. Notaries have collected 47,683 transactions between January and June, representing 15.4 % of total transactions in Spain, below the average of the last nine years.
While those who bought the most houses were Moroccans, British and Romanians, buyers from Sweden (€2,768/m²), Denmark (€ 2,680/m²) and Germany (€ 2,676/m²) have paid the most for their houses, well above the average for foreign buyers (€ 1,863/m²)
Of the almost 48,000 transactions carried out by foreign citizens, practically six out of every ten operations were carried out by residents of Spain. The communities that had the greatest increase in the number of operations among foreigners were Asturias (83.2%), Galicia (81.8%), La Rioja (79.1%) and Castilla-La Mancha (76.3%). But, again, the communities that aroused the most interest among foreign buyers were the Valencian Community, with almost 11,600 operations, Andalucía, with almost 9,200 purchases, and Cataluña with 7,830.
Behind these by volume, they are followed by Madrid, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Murcia and
Castilla-La Mancha, all between 1,400 and 4,300 transactions.
The average price of operations carried out by foreign buyers stood at € 1,863/m², representing an increase of 4.1% year-on-year, the highest price recorded since 2009.
Foreigners non-residents once again paid the highest amounts for their homes acquired in Spain, up to € 2,452/m² ahead of residents (€ 1,498/m²) and national buyers (€ 1,481/m²).
Regarding prices by communities, the Balearic Islands registered a year-on-year increase of 11%, with an average price of € 3,607 / m², the highest since 2007 in this region paid by foreign buyers.
They are followed by higher average prices in the first half of the year, Madrid (€ 2,487/m²), País Vasco (€ 2,138/m²) and Cataluña (€ 2,037/m²). In addition, they are close to € 2,000/m² paid by foreigners in the Canary Islands (€1,940/m²) and Andalucía (€ 1,939/m²).
By nationality, those who bought the most homes in the first half of the year were Moroccans, with 10.8% of total foreign operations (5,159), followed by British (9.7%) and Romanians (6.5 %). According to the notaries, the British, for the first time, do not lead foreigners in home buying and selling operations.
As we mentioned before, the highest prices paid per square meter were by buyers from Sweden, Denmark and Germany; although they are closely followed by the Swiss (€ 2,464/m²), Americans (€ 2,266/m²) and Norwegians (€2,223/m²).
Among resident foreign buyers, the main buyers in almost the entire country are those from Morocco and Romania, except in Galicia or the archipelagos, where the largest share of buyers are Germans, Italians, Portuguese or British.
On the other hand, among resident foreigners, the French led the share of sales in the two Castillas, Aragon, Cataluña, La Rioja, País Vasco and Navarra. On the other hand, the main buyers in the archipelagos and Cantabria are the Germans, and the British in Andalucía and Murcia.
