The French market for Spanish property
Data and analysis of the French market for property in Spain in periodic reports highlighting key trends of interest to anyone looking to buy or sell property in areas of Spain where the French are active in the local property market.
The annual report will go into more detail on French demand by region, how much buyers from France spend on property in Spain, and the headwinds / tailwinds driving or hindering buyers from France. The half-yearly report just updates the main charts with the latest numbers. The first annual report will be published for 2024 when the numbers are available in the first half of 2025.
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2024 Full Year
The French market overview: French demand for Spanish property in 2024
This report provides an overview of French demand for Spanish property during the full year of 2024, using data primarily sourced from the Association of Spanish Notaries. It examines total sales, trends by residency status, expenditure patterns, and foreign market share. The report also places French buyer activity in a broader international context and explores key economic and lifestyle factors influencing demand. Designed for property professionals, investors, and market observers, the analysis offers insights into how the French market segment has evolved and where it may be heading.
Sales performance
In 2024, French buyers were involved in 7,849 Spanish property transactions (Fig. 1), representing a year-on-year decrease of 9 %. Compared to the ten-year average, the number of sales dropped by 1 %.
After a strong presence in the Spanish property market in previous years, French demand experienced a moderate contraction in 2024, reflecting similar patterns in several other major foreign markets.
Sales by residency status
Breaking down sales by residency status:
- Foreign non-residents (FNRs) accounted for 4,366 purchases, a year-on-year decline of 15 % and an 8 % drop compared to the ten-year average.
- Expats living in Spain purchased 3,483 homes, with almost no year-on-year change (-0 %) and a slight 9 % increase compared to the ten-year average.
This breakdown is illustrated in Fig. 2.
Looking over a ten-year period (Fig. 3), indexed sales show that:
- The overall French buyer index rose from 100 to 116, indicating an overall increase of 16 % in sales.
- The FNR segment index rose minimally to 102, reflecting a modest 2 % increase.
- The expat segment index rose significantly to 142, an increase of 42 %.
An explanation of these indexes is helpful: an index of 100 represents the baseline year (ten years ago). An index value of 116 means sales have increased by 16 % relative to that baseline. The data reveal the growing importance of the expat segment within the French market, whereas non-resident purchases have exhibited much slower growth. This divergence underlines a shift towards more permanent migration rather than purely investment or second-home purchases.
Foreign market share (FMS)
In 2024, the French share of the foreign property market in Spain declined to 0.057 % from 0.063 % a year earlier (Fig. 4). Over the last ten years, French buyers' market share has seen a high of 0.095 % and a low—which occurred in 2024—of 0.057 %.
This long-term decline suggests that French buyers have been gradually losing relative importance in the Spanish property market compared to other nationalities.
Expenditure trends
The average price paid by French buyers in 2024 was €2,403 per square metre, representing a small increase of 6 % compared to the previous year.
Although overall sales volumes fell, the increase in average spending suggests that French buyers have maintained — or even slightly upgraded — their purchasing power, choosing higher-value properties even in the face of domestic economic pressures.
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
Several factors help explain the dynamic in 2024:
- Domestic economic pressures in France had a notable impact. High inflation throughout the year squeezed household budgets, reducing disposable income available for international property purchases.
- Political uncertainty—fuelled by major protests, strikes, and government instability—likely eroded consumer confidence, making long-term financial commitments abroad less attractive.
- A weakening of the euro against the dollar (and, at times, pound sterling) may also have had an indirect effect by making foreign real estate investments comparatively more expensive or less appealing for French buyers.
Combined, these issues reduced the appetite and ability of many French nationals to invest in second homes or relocation properties in Spain during 2024.
Conclusion
In 2024, French demand in the Spanish property market weakened, with sales falling 9 % year-on-year and hitting the lowest market share recorded in the last ten years. However, the average spending per square metre rose by 6 %, indicating a shift towards higher-value properties among those buyers who remained active.
Over the last decade, demand growth has been substantially stronger amongst expat buyers living in Spain than non-residents, suggesting a long-term trend towards relocation rather than holiday home purchases.
Looking ahead, French demand will likely remain sensitive to domestic economic conditions. A stabilisation of inflation and political uncertainties could help rebuild consumer confidence and encourage renewed interest in Spanish property. However, unless these factors improve substantially, French buyers are likely to continue losing market share to other, more resilient foreign markets.
2024 H1
2,412 Spanish home sales inscribed in the Land Registry in the first half of 2024 (H1) involved a French buyer, down 24pc compared to the same period in the previous year, and 1p below the ten-year average. It was the 6th best year for sales in the last decade.
The French were the third biggest group of foreign buyers of property in Spain in H1, behind the British and the Germans.
The market share of French buyers (as a percentage of the overall number of foreigners buying property in Spain) fell to 5.6pc, down from a high of 9.1pc in 2015.
Looking at the year-on-year percentage change in sales in both H1 and Q2 compared to other countries, France posted one of the biggest declines in H1, behind only Russia, and sales did not pick up in Q2, as they did in the UK and Germany.
Where do the French buy homes in Spain? There are no figures yet for H1 2024, but the picture from 2023 will be broadly similar.
Why is French demand for property in Spain declining, and below the ten-year average? It may have something to do with political and economic problems back home, but falling house prices back in France are also part of the picture. When house prices decline in France, the number of buyers heading for Spain also falls, as illustrated by the final chart.
2024 Q1
French demand for property in Spain is declining faster than any other big market, according to data from the Spanish land registrars’ association.
1,279 Spanish home sales involved a French buyer in the first quarter of the year, down 24pc on the same period in 2023, and just below the ten-year average, as illustrated by the chart above.
In the last ten years Q1 sales to French buyers have been higher in six of them. Excluding the Covid-induced slump of 2021 you have to go back to 2016 to find a first quarter with lower sales, which suggests that French buyers are losing interest in Spanish property, perhaps due to headwinds at home. That said, French demand was only 1pc below the ten-year average.
Year-on-year, the number of French buyers suffered the biggest decline of all foreign markets for property in Spain, with a decline of 24pc, as illustrated by the next chart. So if you are in a market segment where French buyers are important you might find it more difficult than before to find a buyer.
The French share of the foreign market fell to 5.9pc (next chart), down from a high of 10.2pc in Q1 of 2015, leaving them in third place behind British and German buyers, and just ahead of the Belgians. French buyers have averaged 8pc of the foreign market over the last decade.
Where do the French buy homes in Spain? There are no numbers for Q1 to answer that question, but based on Registry data for 2023 it’s safe to say that Catalonia took the lion’s share with close to 50pc, followed by the Valencian region and Andalusia, as illustrated by the final chart.
Get much more detail on French buyers and all the other foreign markets for property in Spain, plus access to all the public data on the Spanish housing market summarised in helpful tables and interactive charts by subscribing to the Spanish Property Insight Data Hub.
