Foreign buyers in Spain: what the 2026 data says
Foreign demand grew in Q2 2026 while total sales fell. Nationalities, areas and why the figures do not always match.
1 min read
Data and events refer to: June 2026.
While total sales fell slightly, home purchases by foreigners kept growing in the second quarter of 2026.
The figures
According to Bankinter, drawing on the Land Registrars, foreign demand rose about 16% year on year to just over 26,800 transactions. Another estimate for the same quarter, cited by Idealista, points to a rise of around 11%. The gap suggests different methods: focus on the trend, not the decimal. Total sales fell 2.3% to 167,934.
Who is buying
Leading nationalities include British (6.99%), Dutch (6.94%), German (6.11%) and Moroccan (6.09%) buyers. The European Union accounts for over half the total. The British share is far lower than two decades ago.
Where
The distribution is very uneven. In 2025 the national average was 13.8% of sales, but in Alicante it reached 43.29%. Coastal areas concentrate much of this demand.
What it means for you
- In areas with strong international demand, prices may reflect buyers with different purchasing power.
- If you are an international buyer, review your home country's taxes as well as Spain's.
- If you are selling, have your documents ready: they speed up remote transactions.
Always check figures in the registry statistics, as many news items cite the same report with different rounding.
