Data from the Spanish Land Registrars Association shows that foreign investors are rushing back to the Spanish property market in considerable numbers. Similarly to other European economies, the Spanish property market has struggled since the 2008 financial crisis which sunk the worldwide economy into a recession and nearly prompted a depression. Even though Spanish banks still hold a large number of houses which were re-possessed after mortgage defaults, there is now optimism that the Spanish market may be over the worst and the recovery is on the way.
Figures show that the number of sales involving foreign buyers grew 15.6%, compared to the same period in 2016, which is a significant increase by any stretch of the imagination. The figure is even more prominent when you consider the number of British buyers of Spanish property dropped by 23.6% year-on-year.
Overall the Spanish property market increased by 14.4% in the first three months of 2017 with domestic demand for property up by 14.2%. This is reassuring news that the worst of it may be over. However, the European Union is currently addressing its greatest challenge to date, Brexit.
When you consider Brexit and the fall in the value of sterling, you might be surprised to learn that British investment in Spanish property was still the biggest group of foreign investors. British buyers made up 15% of the foreign market share in the first quarter of 2017, with France second at 10% and Germany close behind on 8%. It will be interesting to see whether this mix fluctuates after the Brexit negotiations have been concluded, because there is no doubt that this issue has had a significant impact on UK buyers.
Another interesting fact that has emerged from the recent statistics regarding Spanish property sales, is the increase in the so-called “rest of the world” figure. This group accounts for countries where there are less than 100 sales per year, but remarkably it has jumped to 41% of the overall foreign investment market.
Consequently, many Spanish estate agents will be dissecting the 41% “rest of the world” figure to see where increased interest in Spanish property is coming from. There is no doubt that many people have for some time considered Spanish property to be relatively “cheap” so it will be interesting to see how long the ongoing recovery lasts.
If you are thinking of relocating to Spain and snapping up some property, contact deVere Spain today for expert financial advice.
News you might like
Spain’s unemployment at its lowest in 10 years
Spain’s unemployment rate has fallen in the fourth quarter, dropping to its lowest level in ten years as an increase in agriculture and construction jobs counteracted the tourist industry’s off-season, according to official statistics released Tuesday.
posted on 29.01.2019
Foreign investors switched on to Spanish property
Data from the Spanish Land Registrars Association shows that foreign investors are rushing back to the Spanish property market in considerable numbers. Similarly to other European economies, the Spanish property market has struggled since the 2008 financial crisis which sunk the worldwide economy into a recession and nearly prompted a depression.
posted on 27.06.2017