Spain’s high-end housing market is having its strongest run in decades. Foreign buyers now account for around 60% of demand in the ultra-luxury segment, and prices at the top end have climbed 30% in just five years. While much of Europe’s prime property has cooled, Spain keeps pulling in wealthy buyers from Britain, Germany, the US and beyond.
So what’s actually drawing all this money towards the Spanish coast, and why didn’t even the end of the golden visa slow it down?
Who’s Buying at the Top End
British buyers still lead the pack, as they have for years, though their share has slipped slightly as Germans, French, Dutch and Scandinavian buyers grow their presence. American interest has also picked up noticeably, both in Madrid and on the islands. In Palma, US buyers now account for around 10% of transactions, a market the Germans and British had to themselves for decades.
The profile of the buyer has changed as much as the nationality. Reputable agencies dealing in luxury real estate in Spain report a new cohort of tech founders, finance executives and professional athletes buying alongside the traditional second-home crowd, and most of them don’t need a mortgage. In transactions above €2.5 million, 62% of buyers are foreign, and roughly 60% of super-prime deals close without any financing at all.
That tells you a lot about the nature of the demand. These are cash-rich buyers choosing Spain over Monaco, the Côte d’Azur or the Italian lakes, and they’re doing it with their own money.
The Hotspots Where Foreign Money Dominates
The geography of the luxury market is strikingly uneven. In Andratx on Mallorca, international buyers make up 79% of luxury purchases. In Benahavís, just inland from Marbella, the figure hits 84%. The Balearic Islands alone hold 34% of all Spanish properties listed above €3 million, ahead of Málaga province at 31%.
Madrid tells a different story. Foreign buyers account for only 14% of luxury acquisitions in the capital, meaning the city’s prime market still runs on domestic wealth. For international buyers, the pull remains firmly coastal: the Costa del Sol, the Balearics, Ibiza and, increasingly, quieter corners like Menorca and the Costa Brava.
Why the Money Keeps Coming
The fundamentals haven’t changed much, which is partly the point. Spain offers 300 days of sunshine in the south, direct flights to almost every major European city, excellent private healthcare and a cost of living that still undercuts most rival destinations, even at the luxury end. A villa budget that buys a modest apartment in Monaco will stretch to a frontline estate in Mallorca.
Then there’s the value story. Spain now ranks among Europe’s top three markets for prime price growth over the past five years, outperforming nine of twelve major property markets. Buyers increasingly see long-term upside rather than a short-term splurge, and scarce supply reinforces that view. In areas like Puerto Andratx, well-located stock simply doesn’t come up often, and when it does, it will usually sell quickly and above asking expectations.
The Golden Visa Ended and Nobody Blinked
Spain scrapped its property-based golden visa in April 2025, and plenty of commentators predicted a slump at the top end. But that never came. The impact on the luxury market has been virtually negligible, which confirms what most agents already suspected: wealthy buyers were never in it for the residency permit.
They buy in Spain because they want to live there, or at least spend a serious chunk of the year there. That kind of demand doesn’t switch off when a government scheme does, and it explains why the market absorbed the change without too much of a wobble.
Too Many Buyers, Not Enough Villas
The pressure point over the next few years will be supply. In the Balearics, homes priced above €3 million made up 6% of the islands’ stock for sale in 2023. By 2026, that figure had jumped to 15%, yet prime coastal plots remain finite and planning rules keep getting tighter.
Buyers holding out for prices to fall or even stabilise will likely find themselves competing for even less. Every signal in the data points the same way: demand isn’t fading, and the stock worth owning will keep getting scarcer.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
