Brits Still Top Foreign Property Buyers in Spain

Despite the Brexit vote to leave the European Union, Brits are still the top overseas investors buying properties in Spain ahead of any other nationality.

Almost twice as many Spanish properties were purchased by Brits than any other foreign nationality in 2017, proving that the love affair between Brits and Spanish property is far from over.

Spain’s property registrars reported an overall total of 464,223 property sales in Spain last year, representing a 14.98 per cent rise on the 2016 figure.

The largest rises were in the regions of Cuenca at 36.3 per cent, Albacete 26 per cent, and Granada rising by 22.9 per cent.

The report also showed that 13.1 per cent of the overall sales figure were properties purchased by overseas property investors, roughly the same level seen over the last three years.

Of the approximately 60,860 Spanish properties sold to foreign nationals, Brits accounted for 9,111 purchases, almost 15 per cent of the total. (Although separate data released by Spanish Notaries actually put the figure as high as 19 per cent).

French buyers came next with 5,233 followed by Germans with 5,234. Buyers from Belgium and Switzerland accounted for just under 4,000 purchases each, and Italians bought 3,530.

Most overseas property investors purchased properties in the popular holiday areas of Spain, with Alicante and Tenerife leading the way with 40.8 per cent and 40.7 per cent of sales going to foreign investors.

The report showed that the percentage of foreign purchases made by Brits has actually fallen since Brexit, having accounted for 21.3 per cent in 2015. However much of this is down to an increase in other nationalities buying property in Spain, as the number of Spanish properties purchased by Brits only dropped by less than 10 per cent.

It seems that the Brits love affair with Spanish property is alive and kicking.