In 2025, the Spanish housing market reached its highest level since 2007: according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, 752,098 home sales were completed in the country, which is 5% more than in 2024.
Foreign demand remains one of the key drivers of this growth. According to preliminary data from Spanish registrars, foreigners bought almost 97,300 houses and apartments in Spain in 2025, which was a new high and accounted for 13.8% of all transactions in the housing market. At the same time, according to notarial statistics for the first half of 2025, foreigners accounted for 71,155 transactions, or 19.3% of the total number of home sales during this period. Notaries separately note that the growth in 2025 was mainly driven by foreign residents, while purchases by non-residents declined slightly.
The main groups of foreign buyers in Spain are now primarily Europeans and people from countries with high migration to Spain itself. According to registrars’ data for the fourth quarter of 2025, the largest shares among foreign buyers were British (8.57%), German (6.67%), Dutch (5.91%), Moroccans (5.30%), French (5.28%), Romanians (5.17%), and Italians (4.76%). Notarial statistics for the first half of 2025 also show the UK leading the way with 5,731 transactions, followed by Morocco with 5,654 and Germany with 4,756.
Ukrainians also occupy a prominent place in this structure. According to data based on Spanish notarial statistics, in January-June 2025, Ukrainian citizens made 2,165 home purchases in Spain, which was a record for the entire series of observations. In the official Notariado review, Ukraine is also named among the countries that showed growth in the first half of 2025: the number of purchases by Ukrainians increased by 5% year-on-year. The average price paid by Ukrainian buyers was around EUR 1,832 per square meter.
Russians, on the contrary, are losing weight in the Spanish market. According to notaries, in the first half of 2025, home purchases by Russian citizens decreased by 17.4% compared to the same period in 2024, and Russians are no longer among the largest foreign groups in terms of the number of transactions. At the same time, Russians are still among the buyers with above-average purchase prices for foreigners.
Geographically, foreign demand is most noticeable on the coast and islands. According to registrars, the share of foreign buyers is particularly high in the Balearic Islands (32.8%), the Valencian Community (29.6%), the Canary Islands (24.5%), Murcia (22.8%), Catalonia (16.5%), and Andalusia (14%). Notaries also highlight Alicante, the Balearic Islands, Malaga, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife as the main areas of concentration for transactions with foreigners.
Thus, the Spanish housing market is currently being fuelled by two foreign flows: non-resident buyers, especially from Northern and Western Europe, and migrants who already live and work in Spain. According to notarial statistics, it is the second group that will be the main factor in maintaining record demand for housing in 2025.
The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, has proposed banning citizens of countries outside the European Union from buying second homes in the city, explaining that this is to combat speculative demand amid a protracted housing crisis. This primarily concerns buyers who purchase real estate not for permanent residence but as an investment asset. In February, Collboni himself said that if it were within his power, he would ban British, American, and other non-EU citizens from buying second homes in the Catalan capital.
At the moment, this is only a political initiative and not an adopted norm. At the same time, at the national level, the Spanish government announced in January 2025 its intention to significantly tighten the conditions for purchasing housing for non-residents from countries outside the EU, increasing the tax burden for them to 100% of the property value. This measure also remains a proposal and requires further legislative formalization.
Barcelona’s initiative is part of a broader policy by city authorities to cool the overheated housing market. Earlier, the city had already decided not to renew licenses for short-term tourist rentals, of which there are about 10,101 in Barcelona, after 2028. The authorities explain the tough stance by the fact that over the past ten years, the average rent in the city has increased by 68%, and the cost of purchasing housing by 38%.
According to official data from Idescat, at the beginning of 2025, 1,713,247 people lived in Barcelona, of whom 437,663 were foreigners, or 25.55% of the population. Accordingly, there were about 1.276 million Spanish citizens in the city. At the same time, if we look not at citizenship but at place of birth, according to the city report for 2024, 33.6% of Barcelona’s residents were born outside Spain, and those born directly in Barcelona accounted for only 46.1% of the population.
The largest diasporas in Barcelona by citizenship at the beginning of 2025 were Italian (50,754 people), Colombian (29,574), Pakistani (24,857), Chinese (22,333), Peruvian (22,105), Moroccan (19,300), and French (18,437). The city authorities separately noted that the statistics for Italian citizens also include many people born in Argentina with Italian passports.
The housing price index in Ukraine reached 112.8% at the end of 2025, compared to 112.7% in 2024 and 114.5% in 2023, according to the State Statistics Service (Derzhstat).
According to its data, housing prices in the primary market rose by 14.3% in 2025, with growth slowing compared to 2024, when the figure was 15%. At the same time, one-room apartments rose in price by 14.6%, two-room apartments by 14.1%, and three-room apartments by 13.2%.
At the same time, housing prices in the secondary market rose last year after falling in 2024. Thus, the secondary market rose by an average of 12%, which is 0.4 percentage points (p.p.) higher than in 2024. One-room apartments on the secondary market rose in price by 12.7%, two-room apartments by 12.1%, and three-room apartments by 11.8%.
According to the agency, in the fourth quarter of 2025, the housing price index was 113.2%, which is almost equal to the figure for the fourth quarter of 2024 (113.1%). In particular, in October-December 2025, prices in the primary market rose by 13.1% compared to 15.8% in October-December 2024, while in the secondary market, the rate of price growth accelerated: the indicator was 13.3% compared to 11.9%, respectively.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to the third quarter, the housing price index rose by 4.4 percentage points to 104.7%. In particular, housing prices in the primary market rose by an average of 4.3%: one-room apartments by 4.8%, two-room apartments by 4.2%, and three-room apartments by 3.7%.
In the secondary market, housing prices rose by 5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 0.3% in the third quarter. One-room apartments rose in price by 5.6%, two- and three-room apartments by 5% and 4.5%, respectively.
As reported by Serbian Economist, the average price of 1 square meter of housing in new buildings in Montenegro in the IV quarter of 2025 amounted to 2 206 euros, which is 14% higher than the level of the IV quarter of 2024 (1 936 euros), according to data from MONSTAT.
The growth was uneven by region. On the coast, the average price reached EUR 2,570 per sqm (approximately +24% y/y), in Podgorica – EUR 2,141 (+10%), in the central region – EUR 1,363 (growth from a low base, approximately +46%), while the northern region did not record new building sales in Q4 2025.
The dynamics during 2025 were in waves: the national average price was €2,158 in Q1, €2,201 in Q2, €2,228 in Q3 and €2,206 in Q4, meaning that after peaking in the summer, the figure fell slightly towards the end of the year.
MONSTAT separately emphasizes that the average price is strongly influenced by the share of so-called solidarity housing (housing sold under the preferential model). In the fourth quarter of 2025, in the category “enterprises” (market sales), the average price in the country was 2,415 euros per square meter, while in solidarity housing – 705 euros.
From the point of view of “Serbian Economist”, the key conclusion for 2025 is as follows: the market of new buildings in Montenegro remains “two-speed” – the coast continues to rise in price faster due to tourist demand and limited supply in prime locations, while the capital and inland regions are more dependent on the structure of transactions and availability of credit. The Financial Stability Board at the Central Bank of Montenegro also warned about the risks of overheating amid active lending and rising prices at the end of 2025.
In 2026, the pressure on prices is likely to continue, but the pace may become more “selective” in terms of locations and quality of projects: the priority will be objects with clear documents, ready infrastructure and rental potential, while the mass segment is more sensitive to household incomes and financing conditions.
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In Greece, from April 1, 2026, residential and commercial property rentals will only be payable by bank transfer to the landlord’s account. The measure is enshrined in amendments that postpone the launch date of mandatory cashless payments for rent to April 2026 and tighten controls on the declaration of rental income.
According to explanations provided by the Greek media and the regulations they refer to, payments must be made to an IBAN registered to the owner and declared to the AADE tax service. Payments to third-party accounts (relatives, lawyers, trustees, management companies) will not be recognized for tax purposes, and in the case of joint ownership, each co-owner will be required to provide their IBAN for the correct distribution of income.
Failure to comply with the rules will result in financial consequences for all parties to the transaction. Owners lose the standard 5% tax deduction on rental income; tenants lose their entitlement to housing benefits, including annual rent compensation of up to €800; businesses will not be able to count rent as an expense if they pay outside the banking system (as an example, there is a risk of losing €8,400 in deductible expenses per year when renting €700 per month).
The authorities link the innovation to the task of matching declared rental income with bank transactions and reducing the share of “gray” payments in the rental market, with AADE having to set up data collection from payment service providers to monitor compliance with the regime.
Housing prices in Hungary rose by 17.5% year-on-year in January 2026, according to data from the ingatlan.com classifieds portal. In Budapest, the increase was even higher – 20.4% y/y, while prices across the country rose 1.7% m/m and in the capital – 2.9% m/m.
In Budapest, one of the most “massive” districts in terms of supply, District XIII, showed an average price of around HUF 1.62 million per square meter in January, which is equivalent to approximately EUR 4,300 at the ECB exchange rate (EUR 1 = HUF 379.88 as of February 12, 2026). In the premium District V, the median price exceeded HUF 2.04 million per square meter (approximately EUR 5,400).
Price growth was also observed outside the capital. In Debrecen, the country’s second-largest city, the level reached about HUF 1.07 million per square meter (approximately EUR 2,800), while the lowest values among administrative centers were recorded in Szalgótarján, at around HUF 339,000 per square meter (about EUR 0,900).
Hungary’s data fits into the overall European picture of accelerating prices, but with a noticeable “overheating” relative to its neighbors. According to Eurostat calculations, in the third quarter of 2025, Hungary showed the highest growth in housing prices in the EU – +21.1% y/y (followed by Portugal and Bulgaria).
Among the factors supporting demand, market participants and economic observers highlight government incentives for buyers. In particular, the Hungarian government announced a program to support first-time home buyers with interest rate subsidies (preferential loans), which, according to the authorities, could become a significant budget item in the coming years.
An additional “booster” for the dynamics in euro terms was the currency component: in 2025, the Hungarian forint strengthened significantly against the euro (in particular, according to Hungarian media estimates, by approximately 6.2% in the first ten months of the year), which makes price growth more noticeable for settlements in euros.
