The province of Alicante has strengthened its position among Spain’s largest residential real estate markets, remaining a key hub for demand from both local and foreign buyers. This is reported by Prian, citing data from the Spanish housing market. An additional growth factor remains the high interest from foreigners, thanks to which Alicante maintains a special status in the national market.
According to Idealista, in 2025, foreigners accounted for 45.7% of all housing transactions in the province of Alicante—one of the highest figures in the country and, in fact, nearly half of the market. By comparison, the share of foreign buyers across Spain as a whole was 13.8%, and in the Valencian Community, 27.6%; in other words, Alicante significantly outpaces both the national and regional averages.
High foreign buyer activity supports market liquidity and demand in coastal areas, particularly on the Costa Blanca. At the same time, this makes Alicante one of the main indicators of external demand for Spanish housing, especially in the segments of second homes, investment apartments, and properties for permanent residency.
Among foreign buyers in Spain in 2025, citizens of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany dominated. According to Spanish sources in the Valencian Community, in 2025 the Netherlands took first place among foreign homebuyers in the region, displacing the British, followed by Belgians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Germans among the most prominent groups.
Home sales to foreigners in Turkey in March 2026 fell by 20% year-over-year to 1,353 units, with Ukrainian citizens failing to make the top three list of foreign buyers. This is according to March statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
According to March data, Russian citizens took first place among foreign buyers, purchasing 229 properties. Iranian citizens came in second with 130 transactions, and Iraqi citizens came in third with 84 purchases.
Previously, Ukrainian citizens had consistently been among the largest foreign buyers of housing in Turkey. As previously reported by the Open4Business portal, in January 2026, Ukrainians ranked third among foreign buyers, purchasing 77 properties, trailing only Russian citizens with 219 purchases and Iranian citizens with 118. For the full year 2025, Ukraine also ranked third: Ukrainian citizens purchased 1,541 residential properties in Turkey, while Russians bought 3,649 properties and Iranians 1,878.
Overall, the Turkish housing market showed mixed trends in March. The total number of housing sales in the country decreased by 2.1% compared to March 2025, to 113,367 units. At the same time, mortgage sales rose by 35.9%, to 25,978, and new home sales increased by 1.3%, to 35,725.
Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir remained the largest markets by number of transactions in March. Istanbul accounted for 21,665 sales, Ankara for 10,236, and Izmir for 7,278.
Ukraine’s construction market is showing mixed trends at the start of 2026: infrastructure and engineering construction remains the main driver, while the residential and part of the commercial segments continue to face pressure from rising costs, limited effective demand, and military risks. However, complete official statistics for January–March 2026 have not yet been published: according to the statistical agencies’ calendar, construction data for January–March is expected to be released in late April, so the current picture as of April 10 is based primarily on January–February results and related first-quarter indicators.
After a 12% increase in the volume of completed construction work in 2025—to UAH 248.1 billion—the market entered 2026 with a higher base, but growth rates began to level off as early as the first few months. In January, the volume of construction work grew by 3.3% year-over-year to UAH 11.254 billion, while building construction declined by 6.5%—including residential construction by 12% and non-residential construction by 4%—while civil engineering added 15.5%. Based on the results for January–February, the market already showed a 1.8% year-over-year decline to UAH 23.04 billion: the residential segment fell by 11.5%, the non-residential segment by 9.5%, while civil engineering structures, conversely, grew by 8.5%.
Rising construction costs remain a separate factor putting pressure on the market. According to the State Statistics Service, in February 2026, prices for construction and installation work rose by 7.2% compared to February of last year, and by 6.5% for the January-February period. In residential construction, price growth over two months was 6.1%, in non-residential construction—6.9%, and in civil engineering—6.4%. This means that even if certain growth areas remain stable, the profit margins of developers and contractors remain under pressure, especially in projects where sales prices or budget limits cannot keep pace with rising construction costs.
The residential segment, meanwhile, continues to present a mixed picture. On the one hand, the National Bank noted in its January inflation report that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of projects where construction began rose by 19% year-over-year, including a 77% increase in residential projects, and the number of buildings commissioned increased by 21%, including residential housing—by 40%. On the other hand, the NBU noted in its December Financial Stability Review that sales in unfinished projects remain sluggish, especially in the early stages of construction and in less secure regions, and housing prices in most regions are changing only slightly, indicating subdued demand.
Preferential mortgages remain a key support mechanism for the primary market. As of early April 2026, banks had issued 2,152 loans totaling 4.19 billion UAH under the “eOselya” program since the start of the year, and a total of 24,765 families have purchased housing since the program’s inception, for a total of 43.1 billion UAH. At the same time, in just one of the latest weekly reports, 101 out of 158 loans were for “first-sale” housing, including 48 loans for apartments in buildings under construction. This confirms that part of the demand for new housing in 2026 continues to be driven by state-subsidized mortgages.
According to Maksim Urakin, founder of the information and analytical center Experts Club, in January–March 2026, the Ukrainian construction market entered a phase of more complex but more mature growth. “It is no longer possible to speak of a single construction boom. Ukraine is effectively operating in three parallel markets: the first is reconstruction and engineering infrastructure, where demand remains stable; the second is the locally active residential segment in relatively safe regions; the third consists of frozen or very slow-moving projects in high-risk zones. The main trend at the start of 2026 is not simply volume growth, but a redistribution of capital toward infrastructure, logistics, industrial, and social real estate,” Urakin believes.
In his assessment, the market will depend on three factors in the coming months: continued funding for reconstruction, the sustainability of the “eOselya” program, and companies’ ability to maintain construction costs. “If state and international reconstruction programs maintain their pace, and mortgage instruments continue to support primary demand, the construction sector will be able to remain in positive territory in 2026. But without an expansion of long-term financing and a reduction in military risks, the housing market will grow in isolated pockets rather than across the board,” noted the founder of Experts Club.
Overall, the start of 2026 shows that Ukraine’s construction market remains vibrant and adaptable, though its growth is becoming increasingly segmented. Infrastructure, logistics, and restoration projects are performing the most steadily, while mass residential construction still depends on security, affordable mortgages, and developers’ ability to finance projects amid rising costs.
CONSTRUCTION MARKET, EXPERTS CLUB, HOUSING, INFRASTRUCTURE, URAKIN
In the fourth quarter of 2025, housing prices in the European Union rose by 5.5% year-on-year, and by 5.1% in the eurozone. Compared to the third quarter of 2025, growth stood at 0.8% for the EU and 0.6% for the eurozone. Eurostat released the latest data on April 7.
Among EU countries, an annual price decline was recorded only in Finland, at 3.1%. The highest growth rates were seen in Hungary, where housing prices rose by 21.2%, Portugal, by 18.9%, and Croatia, by 16.1%. On a quarterly basis, prices rose the most in Slovenia (5.1%), Hungary (4.2%), and Portugal (4.0%), while declines were observed in France, Finland, and Estonia.
New statistics confirm that the European housing market remains in a phase of sustained price appreciation following the 2023 correction. According to Eurostat, after negative trends in the second and third quarters of 2023, price growth in the EU resumed and by 2025 had once again settled above the 5% mark on an annual basis.
A broader analysis of Eurostat’s housing data shows that this is not a short-term spike but part of a long-term trend. By the end of 2024, housing prices in the EU were 53% higher than in 2010, while rents rose by 25% over the same period, and inflation stood at 39%. Separately, in its statistical review for Q4 2025, Eurostat notes that from 2015 to the end of 2025, housing prices in the EU rose by 64.9%, while rental rates increased by 21.8%.
For the market, this means that real estate in the EU is appreciating faster than both consumer prices and rents, and the main pressure is now shifting to countries in Central and Southern Europe, where growth rates are significantly higher than the European average. Against this backdrop, investors and developers are likely to continue focusing on markets with double-digit price growth, primarily in Hungary, Portugal, and Croatia.
An analysis of the Bulgarian real estate market conducted by the Open4business portal showed that the growth in housing prices in Bulgaria has slowed, but foreign demand remains significant.
The pace of housing price growth in Bulgaria began to slow after a very strong surge throughout 2025, although the market itself remains in a growth phase. According to data from the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria (NSI), housing prices rose by 15.1% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, by 15.5% in the second quarter, and by 15.4% in the third quarter, indicating that the rate of price increases remains high but is no longer accelerating.
An additional factor driving growth in 2025 was the expectation of Bulgaria’s transition to the euro on January 1, 2026. As early as the end of 2025, Bulgarian media and market participants explicitly noted that some buyers were expediting their decisions specifically in anticipation of the currency change, which spurred activity in the housing market.
Foreigners continue to play a significant role in the Bulgarian real estate market, particularly in resort and coastal locations. However, it is important to note that complete official Bulgarian government statistics on homebuyers by citizenship for 2025–2026 are not publicly available. The most frequently cited recent breakdown of foreign demand is based on data from the Bulgarian Real Estate Association and market surveys. According to these estimates, in 2024–2025, the most active foreign buyers included citizens of the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Israel, Romania, Turkey, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.
According to the same market data, Ukrainians rank among the top 10 foreign homebuyers in Bulgaria. Their demand is driven both by relocation due to the war and by investment interest, primarily in properties on the Black Sea coast and in tourist regions. Among the most sought-after destinations are Varna, Burgas, Nessebar, as well as the mountain resorts of Bansko and Pamporovo.
The market continues to be supported by a price base that is relatively low by EU standards. Even after the recent growth, Bulgaria remains one of the most affordable housing markets in the European Union, which continues to attract foreign capital and sustain demand for apartments both for personal use and for rental purposes.
In the near term, the most likely scenario appears to be a further slowdown in price growth rather than a sharp decline. While the market grew at double-digit rates in 2025, a transition to moderate growth—roughly in the range of 5–7% per year—seems more realistic for 2026. This forecast is based on the already noticeable slowdown in growth rates, the high-base effect, and the fact that the euro has already been introduced and a significant portion of speculative demand was likely realized in advance.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia’s real estate market continued to grow through the end of 2025: in the fourth quarter, the total volume of transactions reached €2.4 billion, marking the highest quarterly level since the Real Estate Price Register was established. This was reported by the Republic Geodetic Institute of Serbia (RGZ).
According to RGZ, in October–December 2025, the market value rose by 9% year-over-year, and the number of purchase and sale agreements increased by 6.9%, to 37,386. Apartments accounted for €1.4 billion, or 61% of the total value of all transactions.
Regionally, the number of transactions in the fourth quarter rose by 10.9% in Belgrade and by 5.8% in Kragujevac, while a decline of 6.5% was recorded in Niš and 8.7% in Novi Sad. A total of €768.5 million was spent on apartment purchases in Belgrade alone during this period.
The most expensive apartment of the quarter was sold in the municipality of Savski Venac for €1.4 million, with an area of 90 square meters, while the maximum price per square meter in the same municipality reached €15,298. The most expensive house was also sold in Savski Venac for €1 million, and a parking space for €60,000.
Earlier, RGZ reported that as early as the first quarter of 2025, the market showed a 9.3% increase in value alongside a 2.4% decline in the number of transactions, indicating further appreciation of assets. By the end of the year, this trend persisted, but the market simultaneously returned to growth in the number of transactions.
Vera Yegorova-Tolsta, owner of the real estate agency VIDOVSTAN, also noted the market’s growth in her review. Overall, RGZ data show that even with local fluctuations in individual cities, Serbia’s real estate market remained one of the most stable segments of the country’s economy through the end of 2025.
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