Belgian market

2024 Full Year

The Belgian market overview: The Belgian market for Spanish property in 2024

This report focuses on Belgian buyers in the Spanish property market over the full calendar year of 2024. Drawing on data from the Association of Spanish Notaries, it provides a detailed analysis of sales volumes, trends by residency status, foreign market share, expenditure levels, and key market drivers. The aim is to offer a clear and comprehensive overview of Belgium’s role in foreign demand for Spanish real estate during this period, helping market participants understand evolving patterns and the wider context shaping Belgian buyer activity.

Sales performance

In 2024, Spanish property purchases involving Belgian buyers totalled 6,242 transactions (Fig. 1). This marks a slight decline of 5% compared to 2023, with performance broadly in line with the ten-year average, up just 0.1%. These figures demonstrate stability in demand from the Belgian market relative to longer-term trends, but a contraction over the past year likely reflects wider macroeconomic pressures, both domestically and abroad.

Sales by residency status

Breaking the Belgian market down by residency status delivers further insights into shifting patterns in demand (Fig. 2). Of the total transactions:

• Foreign non-residents (FNRs) accounted for 5,046 purchases.

  • Year-on-year, this segment declined by 5%.
  • Compared to the ten-year average, this is a 0.1% increase.

• Resident expats (Belgians living in Spain) made 1,196 purchases.

  • This segment experienced a 4% decrease compared to 2023.
  • When compared to the ten-year average, demand remained slightly above average, up 0.1%.

When viewed over a longer timeframe, the difference in behaviour becomes clearer (Fig. 3). Using an index where 100 represents the starting point ten years ago:

• Overall Belgian demand has risen to 142, meaning sales have grown by 42% over the period.
• The FNR segment has grown even more significantly, with an index of 146—representing a 46% increase.
• In contrast, the expat buyer segment had a more modest increase, with the index reaching 126—suggesting a 26% rise over ten years.

For readers less familiar with index analysis, an index is a way of measuring growth over time from a base value. An increase from 100 to 146, for example, indicates 46% cumulative growth in that segment. The data shows that demand from Belgian non-residents has outpaced growth among resident expats, suggesting that Belgium-based buyers have increasingly viewed Spanish property as an investment or second-home opportunity, even while not residing in Spain.

Foreign market share (FMS)

Belgium’s foreign market share (FMS) in the Spanish property market stood at 0.045% in 2024, down from 0.048% the previous year (Fig. 4). This subtle decline reflects a softening in Belgium’s relative position within the wider group of foreign buyers. Over the last ten years, the highest recorded FMS for Belgium was 0.067%, while the current figure marks the lowest point during that period. This trend indicates Belgium’s gradually shrinking share of overall foreign activity in the Spanish market, suggesting a rise in stronger demand from other nationalities or comparative weakness in Belgian buying capacity.

Expenditure trends

Belgian buyers paid an average of €2,335 per square metre in 2024, reflecting a small increase of 0.07% year-on-year. This marginal growth suggests that property budgets have remained stable, with Belgian buyers showing consistency in the types and locations of their purchases. Even amid lower transaction volumes, expenditure levels indicate a continuing interest in quality Spanish real estate.

Relative performance

The final three charts presented in this report compare key metrics across nationalities:

• Total sales volume by nationality
• Year-on-year change in sales by nationality
• Foreign market share for all nationalities

These visualisations provide comparative context, helping to assess the UK’s performance in relation to other important foreign markets in Spain. Readers can use these charts to gauge how British demand measures up against other nationalities in terms of strength, direction, and market share.

Market drivers

Multiple external factors help explain the slightly weakened demand from Belgian buyers over the past year:

• Economic slowdown: Belgium experienced sluggish economic growth in 2024, with higher taxes and rising inflation diminishing household purchasing power.
• Reduced disposable income: With families and retirees under financial pressure at home, appetite and ability to invest in overseas property was naturally affected.
• Competition: The stabilisation of Belgian demand took place in an environment where other foreign markets may have shown more momentum, further reducing Belgium’s relative market share.

Collectively, these conditions help clarify the modest declines observed across both residency categories in 2024.

Conclusion

The Belgian segment of the Spanish property market recorded a total of 6,242 purchases in 2024, a decrease of 5% year-on-year but generally in line with decade-long trends. Demand has grown steadily over the last ten years, with non-resident buyers driving most of that increase. However, in the most recent period, economic pressures in Belgium have weighed on demand, leading to the segment’s lowest market share in a decade.

Nonetheless, Belgian buyers have maintained consistent spending habits, suggesting stable investment intent even amid a more challenging financial landscape. Looking forward, market activity from Belgian buyers is likely to remain closely tied to macroeconomic conditions at home, with potential for recovery in the medium term if local economic stability resumes.