PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 21/06/2022

ARCHIVED - Home purchases by foreigners in the Canary Islands exceed pre-pandemic levels

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Purchases by overseas buyers in Spain as a whole still fall slightly short of 2019 figures

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Home purchases by foreigners in the Canary Islands exceed pre-pandemic levels

The majority of coronavirus restrictions have now been scrapped and as international travel recovers, so does foreign interest in Spain, where the property market is experiencing a resurgence. The Canary Islands, long a favourite with British travellers, is just one example of the rebound, where 30.8% of homes recently purchased have been bought by foreigners, compared to 30.4% in 2019.

Foreign demand throughout Spain has grown significantly in the last decade and has remained strong even in low market times, but overseas buyer numbers are still down by about 3% in the country as a whole.

Alongside the Canary Islands, Aragon (9.9%), Asturias (5.5%) and the Balearic Islands (39.5%) have all seen an increase in the number of foreigners buying houses, and another nine communities including Andalucía (15.9%) have remained in and around the same.

Interestingly, the demand for Spanish homes from foreign buyers has actually dropped in many areas since the pandemic hit: international purchases have dipped considerably in Cantabria, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Madrid and the Region of Murcia.

Unsurprisingly, the Mediterranean coast and the Canary and Balearic Islands are the top picks, accounting for 80% of all the properties bought by foreigners in 2021. Last year, overseas travellers bought just over 15% of all properties in Spain.

The demand for homes varies widely across regions but in 2021, purchases in the Valencian Community accounted for 27.4% of transactions by foreigners in the country. Andalucía and Catalonia also contributed strongly, and the three areas made up for 63% of home sales to foreigners between them.

In Alicante alone, foreigners buy one out of every five houses that come on the market, making it the most popular province in all of Spain.

According to Idealista, there are also several regions that attract far more foreign interest than Spanish, many of which are located in Andalucía, such as Cordoba, Laroya in Almeria and Competa in Malaga. Ciudad Quesada and Benitachell in Alicante are much more frequently searched for by overseas buyers, along with Sa Coma in Mallorca and Alajero in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Image: Archive

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