Figures from Spain's College of Property Registrars indicate that 29.4% of home sales in the Balearics last year were to foreign buyers. In 2019, there was a total of 13,951 sales in the Balearics; 4,112 of these were to foreign buyers. The 29.4% was the highest percentage for any region of Spain.
In the whole of the country some 63,000 homes were bought by foreigners: 12.45% of all sales (just over 500,000). This percentage was down from 12.64% in 2018 and what had been a peak of 13.25% in 2016. The fall was in part attributed to a decline in sales to UK buyers, who nevertheless remained the most important market. In the third quarter of 2019, UK purchasers accounted for 14.54% of all sales to foreign buyers. This slipped to 13.94% in the final quarter. Some way behind were French (7.85%), German (7.12%) and Moroccan (6.17%).
The college suggests that there will be a continuing downward trend for British buyers this year because of Brexit. The college is cautious about prospects for the whole year; foreign demand could in fact drop below 12%.
The province with the highest percentage of foreign purchases in 2019 was one where British demand has traditionally been high - Alicante, where the percentage rose from 40.75% in 2018 to 41.43%.
At regional level, the Balearics 29.4% was followed by Valencia (26.2%) and the Canaries (25.8%).