market
Three markets, three realities: why Spain doesn’t have just one housing market
Spain’s housing market is often discussed as a single entity—but according to the professional association GIPE, that’s a fundamental mistake.
“Every time we read a headline claiming ‘Spanish house prices rise 15%’, the same question arises: which Spain are they talking about?” say Alfred van Krimpen and Christopher Fogelberg, president and vice president of GIPE, the European Association of Professional Real Estate Agents.
After decades in the business, they argue Spain is really three property markets in one—each with its own logic, risks and opportunities.
The main residential market: credit-driven and squeezed
This is the market where most Spaniards live their lives. Families, couples and first-time buyers still depend heavily on credit, with 72% of purchases financed by mortgages, according to Idealista. Prices have risen sharply—up 15.3% year-on-year to an average of €2,517/m²—but access to affordable housing remains limited.
GIPE expects modest growth of 3% to 6% in 2026, mainly in large cities and their outskirts, with interest rates and credit conditions setting the tone.
The coastal and second-home market: powered by foreign capital
On the coast, it’s a different story entirely. Here, liquidity rules. In the first half of 2025, foreign buyers completed over 71,000 transactions, representing 19.3% of all home sales, according to the notaries.
“That Swedish couple in Torrox didn’t ask about interest rates—they asked about the balcony’s orientation,” note the GIPE authors. For this segment, lifestyle trumps lending rates.
Prices are expected to rise between 5% and 10% in 2026 in established areas, though GIPE warns of volatility in tourist zones subject to tighter rental regulations.
The rural market: slow, steady, and about quality of life
Inland Spain remains the quiet corner of the property map. Prices move little—often below 2% a year—but interest is growing thanks to remote work and rural tourism.
As one GIPE agent put it, “People here aren’t looking for an investment; they’re looking for a life.”
The forecast for 2026 is stable, with slight increases up to 4%, and more opportunities in rehabilitation and “slow living” second homes.
Realism and responsibility
Van Krimpen and Fogelberg conclude that the role of professionals is to inject clarity, not hype.
“Our duty is to explain what numbers conceal: that Spain is diverse, also in its property markets, and that housing, beyond being an investment, remains the place where people live, dream, and grow old.”
New data from Spain’s Land Registrars show that foreign demand for Spanish homes eased slightly in Q3 2025, though it remains well above historical norms.
Foreign sales slip 4% year-on-year
There were just under 23,700 home purchases by foreign buyers inscribed in the Land Registry during the quarter, down 4% compared to the same period last year. Even so, foreign demand was still 36% higher than the ten-year average for this quarter — proof that international appetite for Spanish property remains robust despite the broader slowdown in Europe.
Foreign buyers accounted for 13.6% of all home sales in the period, down from 14.9% a year earlier. Over the past decade, the foreign market share (FMS) has ranged from a low of 10.8% to a high of 15.9%, so the latest figure remains firmly in the upper half of that range.
British still lead, but the Dutch steal the spotlight
The British retained their long-standing position as the largest group of foreign buyers, with 1,871 purchases — roughly 8% of all foreign transactions — despite an 11% year-on-year decline.
Germany followed with 1,539 sales (-3%), then the Netherlands with 1,416 (+14%). Dutch demand was the star performer this quarter, recording the fastest growth among major markets. Romania and Morocco also saw small gains, up 4% and 2.5% respectively, while most other large markets were slightly down.
Among EU countries, France (-4%), Italy (-9%), Belgium (-15%), and Poland (-17%) all fell, while outside the EU, the United States (-0.7%) and Morocco held steady. Russian demand continued to collapse (-34%), and China registered a steep decline (-23%).
Still above the long-term trend
Despite the quarterly dip, foreign demand remains far stronger than the historical norm. With one in seven Spanish homes still being bought by a non-Spanish national, the international component of the market remains a defining feature — particularly in coastal and island regions.
However, if you strip out the distortions of the pandemic period — the slump of 2020 and the surge of pent-up demand that followed — this quarter marks the first meaningful decline in foreign sales since 2019, perhaps the first genuine cooling in underlying demand. Whether this signals a turning point or just a pause remains to be seen, but it’s the clearest slowdown in the foreign segment since before the pandemic reshuffled the market.
Author: 
Mark Stücklin
Posted on
New data from Spain’s Land Registrars show that foreign demand for Spanish homes eased slightly in Q3 2025, though it remains well above historical norms.
Foreign sales slip 4% year-on-year
There were just under 23,700 home purchases by foreign buyers inscribed in the Land Registry during the quarter, down 4% compared to the same period last year. Even so, foreign demand was still 36% higher than the ten-year average for this quarter — proof that international appetite for Spanish property remains robust despite the broader slowdown in Europe.
Foreign buyers accounted for 13.6% of all home sales in the period, down from 14.9% a year earlier. Over the past decade, the foreign market share (FMS) has ranged from a low of 10.8% to a high of 15.9%, so the latest figure remains firmly in the upper half of that range.
British still lead, but the Dutch steal the spotlight
The British retained their long-standing position as the largest group of foreign buyers, with 1,871 purchases — roughly 8% of all foreign transactions — despite an 11% year-on-year decline.
Germany followed with 1,539 sales (-3%), then the Netherlands with 1,416 (+14%). Dutch demand was the star performer this quarter, recording the fastest growth among major markets. Romania and Morocco also saw small gains, up 4% and 2.5% respectively, while most other large markets were slightly down.
Among EU countries, France (-4%), Italy (-9%), Belgium (-15%), and Poland (-17%) all fell, while outside the EU, the United States (-0.7%) and Morocco held steady. Russian demand continued to collapse (-34%), and China registered a steep decline (-23%).
Still above the long-term trend
Despite the quarterly dip, foreign demand remains far stronger than the historical norm. With one in seven Spanish homes still being bought by a non-Spanish national, the international component of the market remains a defining feature — particularly in coastal and island regions.
However, if you strip out the distortions of the pandemic period — the slump of 2020 and the surge of pent-up demand that followed — this quarter marks the first meaningful decline in foreign sales since 2019, perhaps the first genuine cooling in underlying demand. Whether this signals a turning point or just a pause remains to be seen, but it’s the clearest slowdown in the foreign segment since before the pandemic reshuffled the market.
The Housing Ministry has just released Q3 valuation figures, giving us an official read on Spanish house prices based on professional appraisals. Here’s the quick take on what the new data shows, and why it matters.
Valuations jump to a new high
Spain’s average valuation price in Q3 came in at €2,153/m², up 12% year-on-year. That’s a remarkably strong showing given the economic and political noise of the past year, and it puts official valuations well ahead of inflation.
A decade of steady upward momentum
Looking at the Ministry’s own time series, the long-term trend is clear. From a post-crisis low of €1,476/m² in 2015, valuations have climbed:
- +46% in ten years (2015 → 2025)
- +21% in five years (2020 → 2025)
The pace has picked up in recent years, with valuations accelerating since 2022 as demand continued to outstrip supply in many regions.
What explains the surge?
Tight supply across most of urban and coastal Spain, robust foreign demand, and rising construction costs all help explain why appraised values keep marching higher. Even with higher interest rates, the structural shortage of homes continues to dominate price behaviour.
The bottom line
The latest valuation release confirms what most market watchers already suspected: official prices are still rising at a healthy clip, and Spain remains on a clear long-term upward trajectory.
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