The Spanish real estate market is filling up with foreigners from the US who arrive armed with a strong dollar.
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| Seville, Spain |
American buyers, both for primary and second homes, are altering the Spanish real estate market. According to Mark Stücklin, a Barcelona-based real estate researcher, sales to Americans climbed 76% in the first half of 2022 compared to the previous year, according to Spanish notarial data. It is the most popular semester in terms of registration volume.
What are the destinations that Americans prefer? Stücklin claims that they are mostly purchasing in Andaluca, which comprises Marbella, Málaga, and Seville.
According to Sean Woolley, general director of Cloud Nine Spain, the Americans were never on his radar, but they now account for 25% of his sales. Alejandra Vanoli, general director of VIVA Sotheby's International Realty of Spain, concurs, stating that Americans have surpassed Latin Americans as the agency's top international clients in the high-end market of Spanish capital.
One such example is Ron Hale, the creator and CEO of Natural Tone Organic Skincare, who relocated from landlocked Florida to Marbella for the "food, golf, and international flare of it all."
Frequent direct flights between the United States and Spain are a critical aspect in allowing Americans to travel between the two countries simply and without hassles. "Nonstop flights are crucial," says Gil Madrid, who relocated from Georgia to the Spanish capital with his wife, Laura, to match his surname.
Laura Madrid believes the option is obvious, considering the city's lively culture as well as the historic center's walkability and affordability. They were also motivated by the power of the dollar.
"Spain's real estate market is experiencing rising prices, but the country, which is still reeling from the 2008-09 financial crisis by certain criteria, may appear to be a bargain," writes The Wall Street Journal. "The new neighborhood of La Latina in Madrid is located in the Central area, which is one of the strongest in the city, with prices rising 8% between the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2022. Prices in Greater Madrid have fallen by 12.3% from their peak in early 2008."
Palma de Mallorca has some of the most expensive residential real estate in the country, but it is witnessing an increase in US purchasers owing to seasonal direct flights from Newark, New Jersey. Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, has likewise seen an increase of expatriate Americans though it has no direct flights.
Conor Wilde, a real estate agent, told the WSJ that 90% of his American clients want to relocate completely. This new breed of American expats want a "Spanish lifestyle," which its clients regard as a refuge from political squabbles and the fear of gun violence.
In general, Americans who purchase in Spain come as a family with school-aged children, although they return to the US frequently, for example, for holidays.
According to Wilde, newly arriving Americans frequently use Spain's so-called Golden Visa scheme, which rewards real estate purchases of at least 500,000 euros (about $536,000) with residency cards for the entire family.
According to Daniel Rotmensch, an Israeli based in Spain who offers a full renovation service that includes art on the walls, Americans often spend between $160,000 and $320,000 to refurbish their new houses.