The Diplomat
The sale and purchase of housing in Spain by foreigners, both residents and non-residents, grew by 171% in the first quarter of the year, to 31,711 operations, compared to the 18,521 registered in the same period of 2021, according to data on real estate transactions from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma), consulted by Europa Press.
Transactions by resident foreigners amounted to 16,691, 35.9% more than between January and March 2021, while home sales and purchases by non-resident foreigners increased by 140.6% to 15,020 operations, up from 6,242 a year earlier.
The autonomous communities in which property sales and purchases by foreign residents grew the most in the first quarter were the Canary Islands, with a rise of 75.81% and 1,083 transactions, followed by Extremadura, with 107 transactions, 50.7% more than between January and March 2021, and Asturias, with 185 transactions, which is 49.2% more than a year ago.
The only two decreases compared to 2021 were in Navarra, where house sales by non-resident foreigners fell by 2.89% to 168 transactions in the first three months of this year, and in La Rioja, where a slight contraction of 0.76% was recorded, to 129 sales.
In the case of non-resident foreigners, the autonomous community in which property sales and purchases increased the most was Castilla-La Mancha, which went from five transactions in the first quarter of 2021 to 138 in the same period this year, a 2,660% increase. Of these 138 sales, 130 took place in Toledo, five in Cuenca, two in Albacete and one in Guadalajara.
After Castilla-La Mancha, non-resident foreigners also looked to La Rioja, the Valencian Community and Andalusia to buy and sell homes. This type of transaction grew by 300% in La Rioja, with four transactions in the first three months of 2022. In the Valencian Community, sales went from 2,110 in the first quarter of 2021 to 5,481 in this quarter, 159.76% more, with a special weight of Alicante. In Andalusia, the year-on-year increase in the first quarter was 136.28%, with 3,875 transactions in 2022.
