The Costa Bélgica: Never before have so many Belgians bought in Spain

The year 2021 marked the recovery in housing demand by foreigners after the pandemic. In 2020, home sales fell 16.67% from the previous year, official registration figures showed (Source: theobjective.com). In 2021, however, the Spanish real estate sector has experienced exponential growth and has already reached pre-pandemic purchasing levels.

Never before have so many Belgians bought a country house in Spain. In 2021, more than 3,400 Belgians bought a home in Spain, or 12% more than in 2020. (Source: Spanjevandaag.com).

Not only the Belgians bought more real estate in Spain last year, but many other nationalities such as the Germans (10.4%), British (9.9%), French (7.8%), Swedes (5.2%).

While in 2019 84,263 homes were sold to foreigners (16.9% of the 501,085 transactions that year, according to the INE), in 2021 the number was 86,524 (15.3% of the 565,523 homes sold in Spain), which is about 3 % more homes (Source: fotocasa.com).

Alicante as a favorite destination.

Of all the provinces, the Alicante region is the most popular. One in five of the homes sold to foreigners is bought in the Alicante province (19.4%). a percentage that is much higher than that of other provinces.

In second place is Malaga (12.6%), followed by Barcelona (8%), Madrid (7.1%), the Balearic Islands (6.8%), Valencia (5.9%) and Murcia (5, 4%).

The geographical distribution of the percentage of purchases by foreigners confirms their preference for the coastal provinces and especially those bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the two islands (Balearic Islands), which together represent more than 80% of purchases by foreigners in Spain in 2021. (Source: elpais.com).

Average real estate prices also increased by 46.8% between 2007 and 2022 in the Alicante region.

Not only the demand, but also the average purchase prices rose enormously between 2007 (the year before the real estate crisis) and 2022. In the Alicante region, prices rose by as much as 46.8% during the last 15 years and the average price rose from 170,210 euros to 249,883 euros.

Stijn Herbosch and Serge Claes, managers of UNIQ Estates, say: "The demand for real estate in Spain has never been greater. The Belgians realize all too well that money in the bank does not yield anything and is even worth less due to the extremely high inflation. (9.8% in 2022 in Belgium) The purchase of a second residence pays off due to the annual increase in value, the possible rental income from holiday rentals and of course the enjoyment of the holiday home."