There are many foreigners among home buyers in Spain, especially in the popular coastal areas. It now appears that these foreign homeowners make a significant contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This is evident from a recent report by APCEspaña and PwC. In 2022, these residential tourists contributed €6.35 billion to GDP. El Economista calculated that this contribution is more than three times that of the entire textile industry and more than double that of the wood and cork industry.
An important tax contribution
In addition to its impressive contribution to GDP, residential tourism also generated €3.25 billion in fiscal revenue. The President of APCEspaña, emphasised the importance of foreign homeowners of both new and existing construction, and the multiplier effects of their investments on the economy. In this light, he warned of the negative impact that a ban on the purchase of housing by non-resident foreigners would have. A proposal to this effect was submitted by Podemos last year.
A boost for employment
The purchase and enjoyment of housing by foreigners resulted in 105,606 full-time jobs. This shows that every direct job in residential tourism creates two additional jobs in Spain. This employment contribution is equivalent to twice the employment generated by the Spanish furniture manufacturing sector or the beverage sector.
Record number of real estate transactions
In 2022, the number of real estate transactions by foreigners reached a record high with 88,858 operations. The average price of new homes was €299,053, while that of existing homes was €169,573. Brits, followed by Germans, French and Belgians, were the largest groups of buyers, despite a decline in the share of foreign investors since Brexit in 2020. The most popular regions for these purchases were the Valencian Community, Andalucia and Catalonia. The three together accounted for 68.3% of all transactions.
With 2023 data already in sight, developers expect the overall impact of residential tourists to continue to grow, mainly due to the increase in spending from international tourists.
Also read: Foreigners take over Málaga province
