Spain is one of the main tourist destinations and a popular destination for investing in holiday homes. Moreover, Spain distinguishes itself within Europe by the high proportion of foreign-owned holiday homes.
Together with France and Austria, Spain is one of the three European markets with the largest number of foreign-owned properties, according to a report by holiday home rental company Bellvilla by OYO.
Home ownership is popular in many countries
Most Europeans prefer to invest in a holiday home in their own country. According to the figures, 92% of European owners have these properties in the same country as where they live. However, Spain is also very popular with foreigners. Consequently, of the foreign owned properties in Spain, 55% are owned by Germans, 19% by Dutch and 14% by Belgians.
Of the Spaniards who invest in a holiday home, 99% choose their own country. However, further north, the picture is very different. Dutch (26%), Belgians (24%) and Germans (10%) are the Europeans who invest the most in holiday homes outside their borders. Germans also prefer their own country (98.4%); of Germans who do invest across the border, the Netherlands is the most popular destination with 21%. This is followed by Spain (15%), and Italy comes in third among Germans (12%). Germans own 15% of the total number of properties in Spain. This is followed by the Dutch (5%) and the Belgians (4%).
In the Netherlands, 87% of the real estate is in Dutch hands, and 12% is owned by Germans. However, among the Dutch, France is the main destination (29%). Whereas, Austria comes second with 22%, followed by Germany with 19%. In Belgium (90.2%), Croatia (94%), Denmark (96.8%), Germany (98.4%) and Sweden (91.5%), holiday homes are almost exclusively domestically owned.
Also read: Unregulated holiday properties in Spain
