Foreign buyers accounted for 16.05% of Spanish home sales in the third quarter of 2026, the highest share since records began, as overall sales fell for a third straight quarter.
Foreign buyers completed more than 26,300 home purchases between July and September, according to Spain’s College of Registrars. Citizens of other EU countries made 54.7% of them, and buyers from the rest of Europe a further 17.8%. British buyers led by nationality with 7.5% of foreign purchases, followed by Moroccan buyers at 6.4% and Dutch buyers at 5.8%. Island and Mediterranean markets attract the most international demand. Foreign buyers made 37.2% of purchases in the Balearic Islands and 30.4% in the Valencian Community.
The overall housing market in the country is moving in the other direction. Spain recorded 164,148 home sales in the third quarter, down 5.9% from a year earlier and 2.3% from the previous quarter. That’s the third quarterly decline in a row and the lowest volume in nine quarters, with falls in 10 of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities. Mortgage registrations fell 3.9% quarter over quarter to 124,145. Prices, meanwhile, continue to climb. The registrars’ repeat-sales index rose 15.8% year over year to a record high, and the average price reached €2,512 per square meter. Madrid and the Balearic Islands are the most expensive regions, at more than €4,500 per square meter.
IAM Member Impact: Moves into Spain remain strong, especially from the U.K. and other EU countries, with demand concentrated in the Balearic Islands and along the Mediterranean coast from Valencia southward. Domestic moving volumes are shifting the other way, so Spanish members engaged in that market segment should likely prepare for continued softer demand as high prices and lower sales weigh on the market.
Source: Euronews