Real Estate Market in Spain
After some exploratory trips, you may be convinced that Spain is your next home. The next step would be renting a house in order to know different locations before taking the important decision of buying a property.
Rental & Purchase Prices in 2025
Two Spanish newspapers show 2025 housing prices for rent and purchase, in different areas of Spain.
- According to El País (picture 1), the latest edition of the INE’s Urban Indicators, published this Thursday (2025/23/10), provides further evidence of this. According to data from the national statistics institute, the average rental price in Spain has increased by 33% between 2013 and 2023 (the most recent year for which data is available).
- Additionaly, El Mundo (picture 2) informs that Foreign capital dominates home sales along the Mediterranean: from 20% in Barcelona to 54% in Alicante. The General Council of Notaries presented the new Statistical Portal this Thursday, featuring data dating back to 2007.
Rental Prices
Preferred Areas
🏠 Home Sales to Foreigners Increase 2% Year-on-Year, Reaching 71,155 Transactions
Data from Notarial Statistics from the General Council of the Notariat, 2025.
In the first half of 2025, the purchase and sale of free-market homes by foreigners increased by 2% year-on-year, reaching 71,155 transactions, consolidating the growth trend of recent years.
Non-resident foreigners continued to be the group that paid the highest prices, with an average of €3,126/m², compared to €1,912/m² for resident foreigners and €1,809/m² for Spanish nationals.
Transactions carried out by foreigners represented 19.3% of total home sales, a proportion slightly lower than that registered in 2024 (20.3%).
The average prices paid by foreigners increased in most of the autonomous communities, with particularly intense rises in the Community of Madrid (17.1%), La Rioja (16.3%), Canary Islands (14.1%), Region of Murcia (12.2%), and Catalonia (10.9%).
Total Foreign Home Sales by Nationality
| Nationality | Transactions (Volume) | Share of Total Foreign Sales (%) |
| United Kingdom | 5,731 | 8.1% |
| Morocco | 5,654 | 7.9% |
| Germany | 4,756 | 6.7% |
| Others non-EU | 8,545 | 12.0% |
| Rest of Nationalities | — | 65.3% |
| TOTAL | 71,155 | 100.0% |
The British maintained their top position, accounting for 8.1% of all foreign transactions. This is notable given the pre-Brexit predictions of a sharp drop. They were closely followed by buyers from Morocco and Germany.
Non-Resident Foreigner Sales by Autonomous Community
| Autonomous Community | Transactions (Volume) | Share of Non-Resident Sales (%) |
| Valencian Community | 11,025 | 39.6% |
| Andalusia | 6,733 | 24.2% |
| Canary Islands | 2,666 | 9.6% |
| Catalonia | 2,351 | 8.4% |
| Region of Murcia | 2,121 | 7.6% |
| Balearic Islands | 1,837 | 6.6% |
| Community of Madrid | 557 | 2.0% |
| Rest of Autonomous Communities | 551 | 2.0% |
| TOTAL | 27,841 | 100.0% |
Resident Foreigner Sales by Autonomous Community
| Autonomous Community | Transactions (Volume) | Share of Resident Sales (%) |
| Valencian Community | 9,515 | 22.0% |
| Catalonia | 8,909 | 20.6% |
| Andalusia | 6,677 | 15.4% |
| Community of Madrid | 4,620 | 10.7% |
| Castilla-La Mancha | 2,033 | 4.7% |
| Canary Islands | 1,946 | 4.5% |
| Region of Murcia | 1,817 | 4.2% |
| Rest of Autonomous Communities | 7,733 | 17.9% |
| TOTAL | 43,250 | 100.0% |
Detailed Geographic Concentration by Nationality
Non-Resident Foreigners (Top Nationalities)
| Nationality | Autonomous Communities with Highest Share | Key Percentages |
| United Kingdom | Region of Murcia, Andalusia, Balearic Islands | Murcia (28.7%), Andalusia (15.5%), Balearic Islands (10.9%) |
| Germany | Balearic Islands, Extremadura, Canary Islands | Balearic Islands (50.0%), Extremadura (29.6%), Canary Islands (22.0%) |
| Netherlands | Region of Murcia, Valencian Community, Andalusia | Murcia (15.2%), Valencia (14.9%), Andalusia (11.8%) |
| Belgium | Aragon, Asturias, Valencian Community | Aragon (12.8%), Asturias (11.7%), Valencia (10.5%) |
Where do Spanish People Buy ?
Actually, there are no secrets. When buying or selling a property in Spain, the most common methods include real estate agencies, online websites, and traditional word of mouth.
In 2023, Idealista continued to be the leading real estate portals in Spain, experiencing significant search volumes and user engagement. Idealista, the most visited portal, reported around 46.3 million visits per month. You can find up right the bottom to switch to English. Fotocasa saw approximately 13.2 million monthly visits.
It is important to notice that those ads belong to real estate agencies. Selling from private to private is very uncommon. Yet, you can find some private ads in Idealista and in Milanuncios. We highly recommend that you use a real estate agency to deal with all the paperwork.
ONLINE WEBSITES FOR SPANISH PEOPLE
ONLINE WEBSITES FOR FOREIGNERS
Can You Find Out the House Value?
The difference between cadastral value and market value in Spain lies in their purposes and the way they are calculated:
- Cadastral Value: This is the value assigned to a property by the public administration for tax purposes, specifically by the Dirección General del Catastro. It is determined based on factors such as the location, size, construction, and age of the property. The cadastral value is usually lower than the market value and is used for calculating taxes like the Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI), among others. Cadastral value is outdated and does not reflect the real price.
- Market Value: This represents the price at which a property would be sold in the open market between a willing buyer and a willing seller. It is influenced by supply and demand, economic conditions, and other market dynamics. The market value can fluctuate over time, unlike the more stable cadastral value.
- Appraisal value refers to the estimated worth of a property as determined by a professional appraiser. The appraisal value is commonly used by banks or financial institutions when deciding on the amount of a mortgage or loan to be granted. It helps ensure that the loan does not exceed the property’s realistic market value. Unlike market value, which is influenced by buyer demand, the appraisal value is an objective, expert evaluation of the property’s worth.
Where to Rent an Apartment
In order to find an apartment, you can go straight to a real estate agency or search online. Pirvate ads are common. Yet, we recommend that you use an agency for all the paperwork.
General housing websites
The same ones than above for buying a house.
