The number of new mortgages registered in 2017 was 310,640, an increase of 10.9% with respect to 2016. The autonomous communities with the highest number of new mortgages were Andalucía (60,026), Comunidad de Madrid (56,866), Cataluña (50,848) and Comunidad Valenciana (32,408). Of all the autonomous communities the number of new mortgages on housing increased with double-digit rates in eight of them. The most significant increases were seen in Comunidad de Madrid (17.8%), La Rioja (17.8%), Asturias (16.5%), and Andalucía (11.7%).
This data comes from the 2017 Yearbook of Real Estate Registry Statistics provided by the College of Registrars, which incorporates into its mortgage analysis information on the number of mortgages and the participation of foreigners in the mortgage market.
6.9% of mortgages on housing were granted to foreigners in 2017, exceeding 21,000 mortgages.
The average mortgage of foreign buyers in 2017 was €128,452, above the €117,243 of the national average, and representing an increase of 1.5% with respect to 2016. The autonomous communities with average mortgage amounts above the national average were the Balearic Islands (€244,148), the Community of Madrid (€155,070), Catalonia (€143,143) and Andalucía (€ 141,699).
The nationalities with the highest percentage of mortgages on housing in relation to total mortgages taken by foreigners were: Romanian (11.6%), British (9.3%), Chinese (8.4%), Italian (5.8%), French (4.6%), Moroccans (4.2%) and Germans (4%). As for the average amount financed, the largest amounts were reached by Germans (€234,102), Norwegians (€217,981), Danish (€192,990), Dutch (€181,429), Swedish (€171,394), British (€166,968), and French (€153,987).
Foreign Purchases and Sales
Foreign demand for housing has maintained the good performance of recent years, hovering around 13% of total sales for the last three years (13.1% in 2017, 13.3% in 2016 and 13.2% in 2015). However, in absolute terms, given the growth in volume of operations, foreigners exceeded 61,000 home purchases in 2017, compared to just over 53,000 in the previous year. From the historical low of 2009 (4.2%), and eight years of growth, this percentage has tripled.
The autonomous communities with the largest amount of foreign buyers are those with the greatest draw for tourists. In the Canary Islands foreign buyers accounted for 31.4% of total home sales, followed by the Balearic Islands (31.3%), Comunidad Valenciana (26%), Murcia (18.8%), Andalucía (13.8%), and Cataluña (12.9%).
The following tabel shows the split between national and foreign home buyers in Spain in 2017.
