The share of foreign buyers in property purchases in Spain has fallen this year. This is indicated by recent analyses from the Colegio de Registradores . At the same time, professional statistics confirm that foreign non-residents continue to pay considerably higher prices per square metre than Spanish buyers. The finding is particularly relevant to holiday and second homes in expensive areas.
The Colegio de Registradores’ registry statistics show a falling share of foreign buyers in transactions in 2026. There is no corresponding movement in prices: according to analyses by the Consejo General del Notariado the average prices per square metre agreed by foreign non-residents are clearly higher than those paid by domestic buyers. Market analyses by Idealista give an indication of the scale: according to an analysis in spring 2026, foreign non-residents paid up to 75 per cent more than Spaniards, largely because of the regional distribution of purchases.
It is a fact that foreign demand is heavily concentrated in coastal regions, with Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands – markets where prices per square metre are above average. This geographical distortion affects the statistics in two ways: it increases the measured price gap between foreign and domestic buyers, and makes the decline in transactions by foreign buyers visible in the national total, even though individual hotspots may remain stable.
Explanations attributed to the analyses we reviewed also point to interest rates, exchange rates and tighter financing conditions for non-residents. The reports do not identify any one factor as decisive. However, they consistently note that second homes and holiday properties with higher-specification features are disproportionately popular with foreign buyers, pushing up the average price of their purchases.
For municipalities in heavily tourism-dependent areas, this development sharpens familiar competing priorities: foreign demand boosts construction and service activity, but also puts pressure on affordability for local residents in tight markets. The sources locate the policy implications chiefly in debates about expanding supply, rules on changes of use and tax incentives.
Forecasts remain cautious. According to professional statistics and market analyses, how the gap between prices paid by foreign and domestic buyers develops depends above all on interest rates, construction activity in coastal markets and currency movements. The institutions cited make no specific predictions.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).