Who bought where in 2024

The latest figures from Spain’s notaries offer a revealing snapshot of where foreign buyers were purchasing property in 2024, broken down by nationality and region.

Two maps help visualise the story, each showing the top two foreign nationalities buying in each Spanish region—one for non-residents (on the left) and one for resident foreigners (on the right).

A tale of two markets: Residents vs. non-residents

The data is split between non-residents—foreigners buying property in Spain while living elsewhere—and residents, who already live in Spain when they purchase. These are fundamentally different markets: one focused on second homes and investments, the other on homes for everyday life.

The resident map tells a familiar story of immigration patterns. It’s dominated by Romanians and Moroccans, who form part of the largest immigrant groups in Spain and tend to buy property where they’ve settled. Romanians come out on top in much of the north and centre of the country, while Moroccans are number one in several southern and eastern regions.

However, there are notable exceptions. The British are still a force in the resident market, taking a podium position in Andalusia, Murcia, and the Balearics—regions with long-established British expat communities.

The holiday-home market: Who’s buying from abroad

The non-resident map, on the other hand, is a colourful mosaic of second-home preferences shaped by climate, connections, and tradition.

As expected, the British maintain strong positions, topping the table in Andalusia and Murcia, and coming second to the Germans in both the Balearics and the Canaries. But there’s been a notable shift in the Valencian region, where the Dutch and Belgians have pushed the British off the podium altogether—a surprising development given the historical dominance of UK buyers there.

The French remain influential close to the border, taking first or second place in Catalonia, Navarre, and Aragon, while the Germans are a strong second behind the French in the same regions and hold top spots in the Balearics and Canary Islands—two of Spain’s biggest tourist markets.

But the real headline is the rise of the Americans. Once barely visible in the data, US buyers now top the list in five regions and come second in another two, putting them on the podium in seven out of Spain’s seventeen regions. That puts them level with the French for total podium appearances, despite having the Atlantic Ocean and a time zone or two to cross.

They even share the podium in Madrid with the Chinese, suggesting that while Beijing and Washington may be locking horns in a trade war, their citizens can agree on one thing: property in the Spanish capital is worth the investment.

With US demand surging in recent years, it remains to be seen whether a potential Trump 2.0 presidency will accelerate or reverse that trend. Either way, Americans have clearly arrived on the scene—and they’re buying.

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