Spaniards buy less, foreigners more
The financial crisis brought Spanish real estate businesses crumpling down. It also brought prices down to an all time low. Although Spanish buyers were hit hard, it was an opportunity for foreign investors.
New official figures show in 2013 there were more proprieties bough by foreigners in Spain than in any recent years. In fact, same statistics showed one in every ten houses bought was acquired by a foreign citizen. British buyers were the most free-handed with a percentage above 15. The Brits were followed closely by French and Russians.
In total, foreign buyers spent about 6.5 billion euros on proprieties in Spain, 15 percent more than a year before. Although this should mean good news for Spanish economy, it's not. While foreigners bought more and more, domestic sales dropped even more.
The housing market is dying in Spain. Recent data showed property sales in February 2014 plummeted in excess of 25 percent compared to the same period of 2013. The same statistic is even more worrying when it comes to new houses and apartments. The percentage is above 35 percent an all time high in its history.