Luxury housing has always been a market dominated by international buyers although in recent months national investors are beginning to demand this type of property in Spain. But if we focus on the foreign buyer, they make at least the 14 percent of real estate transactions in Spain. Most of them, thanks to the services provided by Luxury Real Estate Barcelona.
The latest news from the National Institute of Statistics of Spain (INE) show that sales of homes for more than 900,000 euros in the most coveted regions increased significantly during 2016. Across Spain, the number of prime housing transactions rose by 27 per hundred. Valencia recorded the strongest increases, increasing by 104 percent. In Madrid and Marbella sales of luxury homes increased 31 percent, Ibiza 24 percent and Costa Brava 37 percent.
In this context, there are still a large number of Englishmen, as well as French, Belgians, Dutch and Scandinavians, interested in having a single-family home on the coast, although German is still the predominant nationality in the Balearics and Catalonia. Chinese, meanwhile, have also increased their presence attracted by the Golden Visa.
The reasons
The reasons for this growth in Spain of foreign investment are due to the current international situation: the Brexit, the deceleration of China, economic expectations in the US, etc., coupled with growth in Spain and greater ease for obtain financing as well as the high profitability of rents.
The purpose
The main motivation for the purchase focuses on 30 percent in the first residence and 43 percent as a second home. In recent months there has also been a considerable increase in the number of buyers who purchase property for investment purposes (22 percent), while only 3 percent of buyers sought to obtain the Golden Visa.
The location
International clients are mainly concentrated in large cities or on the coast, with Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia as their preferred locations, where they invest in apartments or flats that also use as a second residence. Mallorca, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia are areas chosen for second homes or places to settle after retirement.
The price
You can not talk about a single type of product or purchase price for foreigners, but their interest has diversified greatly in terms of typology and budget. For example in the coastal regions, the most sought after properties are villas with sea views and private pools in prime areas of between 500,000 euros and 1,000,000 euros. The main challenge is to find quality housing in this price range, so demand exceeds supply, especially in the most desirable neighborhoods of Barcelona and Madrid.