7 out of 10 properties sold in Andalucia were purchased in Malaga Province in the first six months of 2016. In total, there were 4,978 property sales to foreign buyers during the first half of the year, that's 17% more than during the period last year. Demand has been particularly high among foreign buyers, who came in far greater numbers this year to find their dream home at the sunny Costa del Sol.
This makes the Costa del Sol the number one choice for foreigners looking to buy a second or permanent home in Andalucia. Spanish government statistics show that 70% of residential properties sold to non-Spanish buyers in Andalucia were purchased in Malaga Province.
Andalucia Property Sales Breakdown
Seen on a regional level, the number of home sales completed by foreign buyers grew by 18.9% in the first half of 2016. Last year the first six months of the year showed that 5,973 property transactions were conducted in Andalucia. This year that figure rose to 7,105. Of this total, only 1.5% of property transactions involved subsidised housing.
Resales still lead the market recovery. More than 90% of properties purchased by non-Spanish buyers in Andalucia were resales, not new builds. It should be remembered though that this figure includes repossessions sold off by banks saddled with a huge portfolio of newly build homes, when developers defaulted on their loans. Although technically these homes are “pre-owned”, they have stood empty and have never been occupied.
Across Andalucia house purchases by overseas buyers have gone up in the first half of 2016. Almeria saw a 33.7% increase in home sales with a total of 797 completed sales between January and end of June 2016. Granada Province accounted for 409 sales, a 13.9% increase on last year. Cadiz Province also saw a 4.6% increase with 405 properties sold.
Córdoba registered 49 property sales, a respectable 16.6% increase compared to the first six months of 2015.
Seville Province has also seen higher demand, accounting for 262 home sales, a 47.1% rise on 2015. Huelva Province sold 126 properties, a rise of 23.5% and Jaén saw a spectacular increase of 49% with 79 properties exchanging hands.
Worries over Brexit
Simon Manley, the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Spain, was grilled extensively by English-language media in Spain over the UK's decision to leave the EU. How this will affect British expats' plans to live in other European countries?
Asked what will happen to European residents after March 2017, when Britain will trigger Article 50, Mr Manley said that “many Europeans contribute to our society and our economy and we are proud of their contribution. There are also 280,000 British people registered as living in Spain, and we hope to reach an overall agreement.”
At the time of speaking to Spanish media he presumably had not heard of the British government's controversial plans to force UK companies to report on how many foreign workers they employ and that foreign buyers purchasing property in London would soon be forced to state exactly what they plan to do with the homes they buy.
It is likely foreign investors won't take kindly to such probes, especially since British expats buying luxury properties in other countries are not being subjected to the same treatment at present. Foreign buyers purchasing luxury homes in London drives the London property market and ultimately, the UK's property market. The money brought by foreign buyers into the Greater London housing market has made it possible to build cheaper homes for essential workers, and to develop land previously not used for residential purposes.
Londoners who retire and sell up in the metropolis are usually those who will then buy a home abroad – break the link of this chain at the very top by scaring off foreign buyers investing in the UK, and there could be another slump of the European housing market in the making, which would also affect house prices in Spain.
Asked if EU residents living in Britain would retain their legal status and if British expats could expect the same, Britain's ambassador to Spain said that Britain needed “to look at all the details. When we finish our analysis, we will announce it.
We intend to be prudent about the interests of British people and we hope to reach a reciprocal agreement. For me, the secrets of success in the 21st century are economies which are more open to foreign investment and talented people.”
Given the latest news about what the UK government plans for foreign property investors in the UK and companies employing EU nationals, the British ambassador to Spain seems a single pebble of reason in an ocean of undiplomatic Westminster rhetoric.
British people hoping to invest in property abroad should voice their concerns with their local MPs and contact the relevant embassy in the country where they wish to buy a property to get the latest news on what will change for them when Article 50 is triggered in March 2017 and the UK leaves the European Union.