ARCHIVED - Foreign buyers snap up half the homes in the Canary Islands
The Spanish islands attracted a huge number of second home buyers and investors during 2022
Spain’s Canary Islands have always been a firm favourite with Britons and other foreigners, be it for a bit of winter sun, a scorching summer holiday or as a bolthole away from the cold and the rain. Property purchases across the country rebounded strongly last year after a notable slow-down during the pandemic and the Canary Islands are once again proving to be the ideal area to invest.
So popular are the islands that foreigners accounted for a whopping 52.6% of all home sales in 2022, meaning that half of the homes on the market went to buyers from outside Spain.
The profile of the foreign buyer has also changed in the Canaries in the last 12 months or so; rather than relying mainly on retirees, the real estate industry is now seeing an influx of young families, a fact which seems to contradict many claims that the property boom reflects more Golden Visas, with buyers spending more than half a million euros on their Spanish villas.
After three consecutive years of price drops, property prices barely increased by 4% last year.
As well as foreigners looking for a holiday home in Spain, the country is attracting a lot of wealthy business people keen to make a savvy investment.
"The competitiveness of the property price compared to other European countries together with the national cultural heritage and the climate have become key elements to attract large international portfolios to Spain," Barcelona property expert Iñaki Unsain explained.
For this same reason, coastal communities and the islands have registered the biggest demand from investors.
During 2022, the regions that saw the largest number of house sales were the Balearic and Canary Islands, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia and Andalucia.
Image: Freepik
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