Which international buyers purchased the most properties in Spain?

International buyers remain a significant part of the national Spanish housing market in 2025, accounting for almost one-fifth (19.3%) of the total real estate transactions registered in the first half of this year.

According to the latest data published by real estate industry portal, Idealista, in the first six months of 2025, foreign buyers accounted for 71,155 property sales, as house prices reached new record highs.

This is the first time since the end of 2022 that the volume of transactions has exceeded 70,000 units, and notarial statistics show that resident foreign buyers accounted for 60.9% of the purchases (43,306), while non-residents accounted for the remaining 39.1% (27,849) of transactions.

Homes purchased by international buyers in Spain during the first half of the year registered an average price of 2,417 €/m², a 7.6% year-on-year increase, marking the highest average in the historical series, and the third consecutive record high.

This figure is driven by the average price paid by non-resident buyers, which has risen above 3,100 €/m² for the first time, an increase of 8% compared with the same period last year.

British buyers lead the Spanish property market

The British remain the leading property buyers in Spain, with 5,731 transactions registered between January and the end of June 2025 (8.1% of the total).

Historically, British citizens have been the most active nationality in the Spanish property market, peaking at almost 25.0% of international sales in 2015.

But buyers from the United Kingdom have declined in number over the past decade, slipping below a 9.0% market share two years ago and losing almost one percentage point in the first half of this year.

International buyers from Morocco formalised 5,654 sales for the same period (7.9% of the total), and buyers from Germany registered 4,756 property sales, representing 6.7% of all registered sales to non-Spaniards. 

The next most prominent countries on the list are Italy (4,513), Romania (4,480), and the Netherlands (4,166), along with France (3,980) and buyers from Belgium with 2,908 sales.

Costa Blanca leads in property purchases

The latest data implies a broader distribution of nationalities purchasing Spanish property, with the decline of traditional buyers marked by a progressive increase in new markets.

However, one thing that has remained the same is the international buyers' choice of destination in Spain, with the Mediterranean provinces and Spanish islands continuing to be the most preferred locations.

Data from notaries places the Costa Blanca as the region with the most home purchases by international buyers (both resident and non-resident), with more than 20,000 transactions during the first six months of 2025.

Among non-resident buyers, the Valencian Community accounted for 11,025 transactions, representing a 39.6% share of the international property market.

Andalusia came in second with 6,733 sales (24.2%), followed by the Canary Islands (2,666 sales), Catalonia (2,351), Murcia (2,121), and foreign buyers in the Balearic Islands represented a 6.6% market share.

International property buyers pay more

Looking at the data by nationality, buyers who paid the highest average amounts per square meter were from the USA (3,465 €/m²), Switzerland (3,457 €/m²), Sweden (3,421 €/m²), Norway (3,292 €/m²) and from Germany, with German buyers paying an average of 3,270 €/m².

But non-resident buyers from China paid more for property than any other nationality in the first half of the year. Chinese citizens paid an average of 4,116 €/m², cementing the importance of this emerging market sector.

Chinese buyers residing in Spain paid considerably less for their homes (2,081 €/m²), but surpassed 2,420 home purchases in just six months, improving on the figure from the previous six months, setting a new record, and ousting Russian buyers from the top ten.

Despite declining interest from British buyers, Spain continues to attract international buyers from emerging economies, underlining the continued appeal of the Spanish property market to global investment.

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