Spain seaside city so popular expats are buying 50% of homes | World | News

Over half of all property sales in Alicante province last year were made by foreign buyers as expats flock to the popular Spanish region. Non-Spanish buyers accounted for 30,290 sales, making up 50.6% of total sales, a slight increase of 0.7% from the previous year, according to data from the Valencia Notary Association.

Foreigners purchased two out of every three new-build properties in the area last year, and the province represented just over 20% of all property transactions in Spain. British buyers topped the list with 3,545 deals, although this was a decrease of 10% compared to the previous year, The Olive Press reports. Traditional markets such as Germany and France also saw declines, with decreases of 13.2% and 11.3% respectively.

However, these figures were offset by a significant increase in home buyers from Eastern Europe.

Polish buyers have now become the fourth-largest international clientele in the Alicante real estate sector, purchasing 2,850 properties in 2024, a 32% increase from the previous year.

Sales to Polish buyers are now five times higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. Lithuanians bought 611 homes, marking a 32.2% increase, and there were also notable percentage increases among other countries bordering Russia.

The Netherlands also showed a strong market presence, with a 20% rise, while neighbouring Belgium saw a 3% decrease.

According to notary figures, the average expenditure by foreign buyers was just over €198,000 per home.

This is a 12% increase on 2023 and approximately €67,000 (£56,000) more than what Spanish buyers paid during the same period.

In a record-breaking achievement, home sales to foreigners in Alicante province surpassed €6 (£5) billion for the first time last year, exceeding the previous record set in 2022.

To put this into perspective, the region’s industries and agriculture exports amounted to nearly €7 (£5.8) billion in the same period.