PROPERTY G U I D E Currencies Direct • Let’s talk currency
HE amount of nonSpanish people who bought properties in the country has grown by 5.6 per cent during the first half of 2018 compared to the same time last year. Industry figures showed there were a total of 53,359 sales made to foreign buyers during the first six months of this year. The figures are the highest since the first half of 2007, at the height of the pre-crash property boom, when around 33,000 homes were sold to foreigners. Sales to non-Spanish buyers accounted for almost 19 per cent of the total number of houses sold. The British were the single largest nationality out of all other foreigners who bought homes in Spain, making up 14.3 per cent of the total. The number of homes sold to British people numbered 7,613 in total, up by almost 9 per cent on the first six months of 2017. The British were followed by the French who bought a total of 4,211 properties, 4.6 per cent less than the same time last year. The Germans came third with 4,138 homes, a fall of 2.1 per cent on last year’s figures. Purchases by Moroccans led to the largest year-on-year growth of any nationality. They bought almost 29 per cent more homes compared to the same time last year. They were followed by the Irish with almost 25 per cent and the Danish with more than 18 per cent. The Valencia Region was the most popular region for foreign buyers purchasing Spanish homes. A total of 15,613 homes were sold to foreigners there, about one third of the Spanish total, with sales growing yearon-year by almost 17 per cent. The Valencia Region was followed by Andalucia with 9,737, a growth of more than 8 per cent, and Cataluña, with 7,570 sales and fall of 5.3 per cent.
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Rise in foreign buyers 9% Increase in number of homes bought by the British.
SALES GROW: Valencia was the most popular with foreign buyers.
29% Growth in purchases made by the Moroccans.