Figures from the College of Registrars show that foreign home buyers are responsible for 11.3% of all transactions in Spain. There has been a drop because of the pandemic, but in certain regions of the country the level of foreign buying remains buoyant and well above the national figure. In the Balearics it is almost 30% of all transactions in the region; in the Canaries, Murcia and Valencia over 20%.
Silvia Escámez, the founder of the mortgage provider Prohipotecas, which operates under the commercial name Finteca, points out foreign home buying increased by 200% between 2009 to 2019, by which time it represented 12.6% of the market. There is a "temporary situation" because of the pandemic, Escámez noting that current interest is being influenced by teleworking.
For Finteca, 13% of mortgages so far this year have been for foreign buyers. Escámez believes that growth has been inspired by digitalisation over the past twelve months or so.
Despite Brexit, the British continue to represent the largest market, with 15.5% of total foreign demand, followed by French and Germans (both 7.5% each). "Although the British have continued to buy houses, this would certainly have increased more without Brexit."