British buyers still top foreign home purchases in Spain: despite Brexit, UK leads the way in 2024

British buyers led foreign property purchases in Spain during the second half of 2024, according to new data from Spain’s General Council of Notaries.

The figures show that UK nationals were responsible for 6,048 purchases – more than any other nationality – making up 8.7% of the 69,690 property purchases made by foreign buyers.

Moroccan buyers followed at 7.3%, with Germans (6.7%), Romanians (6.1%) and Italians (5.8%) close behind.

While the UK retained the top spot, the total number of British purchases actually dropped slightly. Transactions were down -1.7% compared to the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, other nationalities saw significant growth. Purchases by Dutch buyers rose 26%, while Polish buyers were up 42.7%. Chinese and Colombian buyers also saw double-digit increases.

“This consolidated the recovery that began in early 2024, when a 4.2% increase had already been recorded after two consecutive negative semesters (-3% and -7%),” the Notaries Council noted in its report.

Of the more than 636,000 property transactions completed in 2024, 14.6% were made by both resident and non-resident foreigners.

Source: Idealista

According to Spain’s land registry authority (Colegio de Registradores), foreign interest is strongest in coastal regions and islands.

The Valencian Community led the way last year with more than 29,900 transactions involving foreign buyers – 32.2% of all foreign purchases in Spain. Nearly 29% of all homes sold in the Valencian region had a foreign buyer.

The Balearic Islands also showed strong international demand, with 32.6% of purchases made by foreigners. The Canary Islands came next with 27.2%. Across all these regions, British, German, and Moroccan citizens made up the bulk of international buyers.

These figures reflect an ongoing trend: Spain’s lifestyle, climate, and relatively affordable prices continue to draw interest, even as entry barriers have increased post-Brexit.

In fact, the demand for property from abroad has helped drive up national housing prices, which rose by 6.9% over the course of 2024 and returned to 2007 levels for the first time in nearly two decades.

A total of 172,551 transactions were recorded in Q4 alone. That was the highest since Q3 of 2007—suggesting that both local and international demand remains strong.

2025 outlook: will tax proposals and price pressures impact the market?

Looking ahead, changes are already on the horizon.

The Spanish government recently scrapped the golden visa scheme on April 3rd, removing a residency route for non-EU investors, including British buyers since 2021.

It has also proposed a controversial 100% property tax on purchases by non-resident foreigners. This move was part of a package of proposals aimed at curbing housing speculation and addressing the country’s worsening housing crisis.

While the measure has yet to pass and is expected to face resistance in the Congress of Ministers, it’s caused a stir among real estate professionals and international buyers.

Despite these proposed restrictions, analysts have made positive predictions for the Spanish property market in 2025. Although the total volume of property transactions are expected to fall, house prices are expected to rise by a further 4% in the coming year.

That’s largely due to a combination of lower mortgage interest rates and an ongoing shortage of supply, especially in high-demand areas.

For now, Spain remains an attractive market for buyers from the UK and beyond.