Foreign investment in property expected to reach record high

INVESTMENT by foreign buyers in Spain’s property market is expected to reach a record high in 2017.

Already foreign nationals have lavished €888 million on Spanish properties in just the first six months of the year. That is more than double the investment from January-June 2016.

2016 has already established itself as a hugely important year for foreign buyers. Brits, Germans, Russians, French and other nationalities bought 13.2 per cent of all homes sold in Spain last year. That itself was the highest proportion in over a decade.

A 2017 market report from JLL suggests that percentage will be easily eclipsed this year. It is beyond any doubt that 2017 will represent the eighth consecutive year of foreign buyer growth in the Spanish housing market.

A breakdown of foreign-led transactions in 2016 show that UK nationals still top the international rankings. Brits bought 19 per cent of the 53,500 homes sold to foreigners last year and are continuing to break new ground in 2017 despite concerns over the potential impact of Brexit.

Brits were well ahead of the second-placed French, who mustered eight per cent of transactions, ahead of the Germans on 7.6 per cent and the Swedish on 6.7 per cent.