New data reveals that the number of foreigners buying property in Spain is increasing.
According to the latest figures from Spain’s General Council of Notaires, overseas purchasers bought 14,593 homes in Spain during the second quarter of 2013 – a 23 per cent increase on the same time last year.
However, according to official government statistics, just 1,086 non-resident foreigners bought a property in Spain during the second quarter of 2013. The reason for the discrepancies in the figures is largely due to the fact that Spain’s Department of Housing uses different criteria, which belies how strongly foreign purchases are driving the country’s real estate market.
Speaking to Propertywire.com, Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight, said: “Talk to any agent selling Spanish property to foreign buyers and they will tell you that most of their clients are non-resident, to the tune of 80 per cent in many cases.
“It looks to me like the Housing Department’s figures are way off target, which is bad news as how are they going to formulate a sensible policy on such an important question as foreigners buying property in Spain, which is vital to the economy, if they don’t know what’s really going on?”
One of the main reasons behind the recorded rise by notaries in the number of foreigners buying a home in the country is undoubtedly down to the introduction of a visa program that grants residency to non-European nationals who invest a minimum of 500,000 euros in a Spanish property.
However, EU purchasers still lead the way when it comes to buying a home in the country, with the figures showing that the number of Belgians buying a home in Spain increased by 78 per cent year on year to the second quarter of 2013, while the number of French buyers has increased by 70 per cent, German buyers were up by 35 per cent and British buyers up by 25 per cent.
Article published 18th October 2013
Spanish Properties