Foreign demand for property in Spain hit an all-time high in 2022, confirm the latest figures from the Government, and the land registrars’ association.

The land registrars and MITM – the government ministry responsible for housing policy – have just published the annual figures for home sales involving foreign buyers. Both sources confirm record demand for Spanish property from foreign buyers in 2022.

Back in February I reported that foreign demand hit a record high in 2022 based on the quarterly data published by the land registrars. Their annual report just published provides more detail on demand by area and nationality, but the headline numbers are similar. The yearbook says total foreign demand was 13.75% of the market, which would mean 88,858 sales, whilst the quarterly data suggests 94,481 sales and 14.62% of the market, up 58% year-on-year (see chart below). 

The data from MITMA tells a similar story, though the total figures are different. MITMA get their figures from the notaries association, who appear to count foreign sales using a different methodology to the registrars. According to the MITMA figures, there were 134,592 home sales involving a foreign buyer in 2022, up 31% year-on-year, illustrated in the next chart.

Regardless of their differences, both sources confirm buoyant foreign demand for property in Spain last year, although the quarterly figures from the registrars also point towards a decline in the rate of growth in the second half of last year, hinting that 2023 might not be as good in the face of rising interest rates.