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With travel restrictions wholly or partly in place since March 2020, it hasn’t been easy for foreigners to buy on the Costa del Sol. Especially if they wanted to view the property in person. However, thanks to the ever-lasting appeal of the area and the efforts of agents (online viewings, 3D walk-throughs etc), foreign buyers have continued to snap up property in places like Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís.
Over 25% of the market in Q2 this year
The most recent Registrars Association report reveals the latest statistics for foreign buyers on the Costa del Sol and finds that they represented 25.89% of the market in Q2.
The figure is slightly higher than Q1, confirming that foreigners are gradually recovering their position in the market. The Costa del Sol had the fourth-highest share of foreign buyers in Spain after the Costa Blanca, the Balearics and Tenerife.
Nationality of foreign buyers in Spain
In Spain as a whole, the British account for the largest foreign market. In Q2, they represented 9.49% of the share, down 2.62% in the year. Two reasons probably lie behind the slight drop in the British presence: Brexit with its more cumbersome visa regulations; and travel restrictions – Spain didn’t allow nationals from the UK to enter between January and early May.
Hot on the heels of British buyers were the Germans who took 9.04% of the market share in Spain between April and June. They increased their presence by 1.92% and were just a fraction away from being the largest group of foreign buyers.
Nationality of foreign buyers on the Costa del Sol
But what about buyers on the Costa del Sol? The area traditionally attracts a true melting pot of nationalities when it comes to property purchases, although British and Scandinavian buyers tend to dominate the market.
Some recent research from Idealista, the largest online property portal in Spain, looks at where searches are based. And in the first six months of 2021, the data showed that most interests in buying property in Spain came from the UK, Germany and France.
However, on the Costa del Sol specifically, German and French buyers don’t appear as the top searchers of real estate. Instead, according to Idealista, would-be buyers mostly came from the UK in Malaga city, Estepona and Torremolinos. And it was buyers from Sweden who represented the largest share in Marbella, Nerja and Fuengirola.
At Realista, our clients come from all corners of the world, but they all have one thing in common regardless of their nationality. They’re all in love with the Costa del Sol lifestyle and looking for the best possible real estate service. Like to join them? Get in touch with our friendly expert team who will be only too happy to help you find your perfect home on the Costa del Sol.
