Foreign buyers continue to show their love for the community of Murcia and its rich real estate market. Market data show a 23.4% increase in the number of transactions for the sale of real estate to foreigners for the third quarter of 2022. Of course, Murcia is not the undisputed market leader, the Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as Valencia, show more figures, specifically, an increase of 33.7%, 31.5% and 28.3% in annual terms, respectively. However, Murcia shows itself better than such areas as Andalusia (17.8%) and Catalonia (15.3%).
Foreign demand in the whole country has reached historic heights this year. Thus, by the end of the third quarter, the market recorded a continuous increase in foreign demand for six consecutive quarters, reaching a level of 15.9% by the end of September. For comparison, on average for the year, this growth rate fluctuates at the level of 12-14%. By nationality, the largest share of buyers is again occupied by the British (9.3%), followed by Germans (8.0%), French (6.2%), Romanians (4.6%), Belgians (4.3%) and Dutch (4.1%).
After the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, millions of Ukrainian citizens were forced to leave their country and find refuge in European countries. Spain has also received thousands of refugees, some of whom live in shelters, some with relatives. However, there were enough people who could afford local housing. In the last six months, the demand for buying and renting housing from Ukrainians has increased significantly. According to available data, 1,237 houses have been bought by this category since February, which is 73% more than in the first half of 2021. This is also 60% more than the average for the last 15 years — 774 houses.
Data from the Idealista real estate portal indicate that the demand for residential real estate from buyers from Ukraine has doubled over the past year. In comparison with 2020, the indicators have tripled altogether, reaching the number of 91,000 search queries on the portal. At the same time, Murcia accounts for almost 3% of all search queries made in 2022. Specifically, Ukrainian buyers prefer the municipalities of Cartagena and San Pedro del Pinatar.
Returning to the data on foreign buyers in general, the provinces of Alicante aroused the greatest interest this year. Valencia and Barcelona. They accounted for almost 60% of all search queries. Behind the three leaders are the regions of Malaga, Asturias, Madrid, Tarragona, Girona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the top ten is closed by Murcia. It is also worth noting the provinces of Castellon, Baleares and Almeria, each of which accounted for more than 1,100 search queries in 2022.
At the level of large cities and provincial capitals, it is worth highlighting such areas as Torrevieja, Benidorm, Gandia, Cullera, Badalona, Castelldefels and Ospitalet de Llobregat. Together with the capitals of Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona, these cities make up the top ten in popularity in 2022. However, foreigners were also interested in such destinations as Alcorcon, in Madrid, Marbella, Estepona, Benalmadena and Mijas, located in Malaga, Arona and Adeje in Santa Cruz and Langreo with the city of Gijon in Asturias.