The latest figures from the Association of Spanish Notaries show that foreign demand for Spanish property was down 37% in the first half of the year, with second home buyers not living in Spain down 43%.

The chart above shows total foreign demand for property in Spain in the first half of the year broken down by nationality, with the UK as usual in first place as the single biggest group with 3,917 home sales involving a British buyer in completions witnessed by notaries in the period.

The next chart shows the annualised change in demand by nationality, going from the Norweigian market at one extreme (-52%) and the Portugese market at the other (-23%).

The figures also allow us to look at foreign demand broken down between foreign residents, largely buying main homes, and non-residents buying second homes or investments. The next chart shows residents in blue, and non-residents in red.

As you can see from the chart, most Western European countries are mainly second-home buyers, whilst most buyers from other countries live in Spain and are buying main homes. Non-resident buyers also have significantly higher budgets.

By region, the top destination was the Valencian Region, home to the Costa Blanca, Followed by Andalusia, home to the Costa del Sol and others. These two regions plus Catalonia made up 62% of the market.

The regions that rely the most on non-resident buyers saw the biggest decline in sales, with the Valencian Community down 42%. 

The big declines we can see in all the figures above are obviously driven by the coronavirus pandemic, with lockdowns and travel restrictions in the first half. The figures might have been worse were it not for a relatively good first quarter, before the Covid-19 crisis took hold.