Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early parliamentary elections on November 29, 2026, after a fragmented parliament blocked a number of key government initiatives, including measures to combat the housing crisis.
On October 5, Sánchez announced the convening of an extraordinary cabinet meeting to initiate the procedure for dissolving parliament. The early election will take place nearly a year ahead of schedule.
The decision was made following yet another escalation of the housing crisis in Spain. Last week, parliament rejected the government’s proposed housing measures, and on October 3, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protests across approximately 50 cities nationwide.
In Madrid alone, according to Reuters, about 70,000 people took part in the demonstrations. Protesters demanded tougher measures against rising rents, evictions, and the shortage of affordable housing. Protests also took place in Valencia and other major cities.
The housing crisis in Spain has worsened in recent years amid rapidly rising prices, insufficient supply of new housing, and high rental costs in major cities and tourist regions.
According to the latest Eurostat data, published on October 1, 2026, residential real estate prices in Spain rose by 12.1% in the second quarter compared to the second quarter of 2025. By comparison, housing prices across the European Union rose by an average of 4.7% during this period, and by 4% in the eurozone. Thus, the rate of price growth in Spain is more than double the European average.
Moreover, prices continue to rise on a quarterly basis: in the second quarter, prices in Spain rose by another 3.4% compared to the first quarter of 2026. In the first quarter, the annual growth rate was 12.8%.
High growth rates are also being seen in the resale market. According to indices published in early October by Spain’s largest real estate portals, the average price of resale housing continued to grow at double-digit rates in the third quarter. According to Idealista, prices rose by 11.8% year-over-year—to 2,930 euros per square meter—while Fotocasa estimates annual growth at 13.8% and the average price at approximately 3,140 euros per square meter.
At the same time, the situation is complicated by lending conditions. The Bank of Spain reported in July that in the second quarter of 2026, banks tightened lending conditions, and public demand for mortgage loans declined. Banks also expected lending conditions to tighten further in the third quarter.
Consequently, the housing issue has evolved from a primarily social and economic problem into one of the central factors on the Spanish political agenda. The rapid rise in real estate prices, the shortage of affordable housing, the situation in the rental market, and mass protests increased pressure on the government at a time when Sánchez’s cabinet was already struggling to pass bills in parliament.
Early parliamentary elections in Spain are scheduled for November 29, 2026.
A delegation from the Generalitat of Catalonia, led by President Salvador Illa i Roca, signed documents on long-term partnerships with the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Lviv regions during a visit to Kyiv on September 3, according to the Ukrainian Embassy in Spain.
Specifically, Catalonia signed memoranda of understanding with the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as a letter of intent with the Lviv region. The documents cover cooperation in the areas of healthcare, energy, economic development, science and innovation, and the restoration of critical infrastructure and basic services.
A separate area of focus involves strengthening the institutional capacity of Ukrainian regions, specifically preparing them to access EU structural and cohesion funds, as well as aligning with European legislation.
“Interregional cooperation is one of the most effective tools for Ukraine’s recovery. A direct partnership between Catalonia and our regions means not just one-time aid, but sustainable cooperation involving specific projects, the exchange of expertise, and preparation for EU membership,” noted Yulia Sokolovska, Ukraine’s ambassador to Spain.
Medicine remains one of the most developed areas of cooperation. Catalan hospitals have already treated Ukrainian military personnel and civilians with combat injuries, and have provided Ukrainian medical facilities with hospital beds, ventilators, and other equipment. Ukrainian doctors have also completed internships at Catalan medical institutions, specifically at the Guttmann Institute and the Sant Joan de Déu Children’s Hospital in Barcelona.
During this visit, the parties announced the launch of a specialized training program for Ukrainian medical professionals in the fields of reconstructive surgery, the treatment of severe injuries, amputations and prosthetics, burns, and psychological trauma.
The President of the Generalitat of Catalonia emphasized that cooperation must be mutual: Catalonia is ready to share its own and Spain’s collective experience with Ukraine, but at the same time is interested in the unique practices that Ukrainian medical professionals have developed during the war.
At the same time, a delegation from the Barcelona City Council, led by Mayor Jaume Colboni, is visiting Ukraine. As part of the visit, the mayor of Barcelona and the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, renewed the cooperation agreement between the two cities. The document covers issues of energy sustainability, accessibility, urban development, education, healthcare, culture, transportation, and public safety.
Barcelona also delivered a shipment of equipment and vehicles to Kyiv for the fire and rescue service. Starting in 2023, Kyiv will have priority city status in Barcelona’s municipal grant program for civil society organizations.
As noted by the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain, the agreements reached signify a shift in Catalonia’s support from individual humanitarian projects toward a permanent institutional partnership focused on the reconstruction of Ukrainian regions and their integration into the EU.
Original source: Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Spain
The number of foreign tourists who visited Spain in July rose by 4.6% year-over-year, reaching 11.539 million people, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
This is a record high for any month since records began in 1995.
The largest number of tourists last month came from the United Kingdom—nearly 2.2 million—followed by France (1.6 million) and Germany (1.2 million).
The number of visitors from other European countries rose by 10% to 1.12 million.
The Balearic Islands welcomed the most tourists (2.57 million), followed by Catalonia (2.37 million), Andalusia (1.69 million), and the Valencian Community (1.63 million).
Total spending by visitors to the country in July rose by 10.9% year-over-year, to EUR 18.22 billion, or an average of EUR 1,579 per person.
From January through July, tourist arrivals to Spain rose by 4.6%, to approximately 58.1 million people. This is also a record figure for that period. Foreign tourists spent EUR82.05 billion in the country over the seven-month period.
The housing crisis in Spain continues to deepen amid a long-standing shortage of new construction, a rise in the number of households, and a record increase in population—a significant portion of which is due to migration. The structural housing shortage in the country is estimated at approximately 700,000–750,000 units, according to data from the Funcas analytical center.
The current situation should not be compared to the housing bubble of the 2000s. At that time, significantly more housing was being built in Spain, and market growth was fueled by lending. Now the problem is the opposite—supply consistently lags behind demand.
In recent years, approximately 100,000 new homes have been completed annually in Spain, while about 230,000 new households have been formed. The gap that has accumulated since 2020 has reached nearly 700,000 units.
As a result, both home purchase prices and rental rates are rising. The problem is particularly acute in Madrid, Barcelona, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and popular coastal areas. At the same time, the shortage is gradually spreading from the largest cities to their suburbs and medium-sized cities. Funcas notes that rents have been rising faster than wages in recent years, and young renters spend an average of about 35% of their budget on housing and utilities.
Experts believe that some of the measures taken by the authorities can only temporarily curb prices but cannot eliminate the root cause of the crisis. Rent controls may lower housing costs for some current tenants, but at the same time reduce the number of apartments that landlords are willing to put on the market. Subsidies for buyers, given limited supply, may also lead to further price increases.
Among the long-term solutions, Funcas cites increasing the supply of land parcels, expediting the issuance of building permits, enhancing legal certainty for developers and property owners, and expanding the stock of affordable rental housing. Social rental housing in Spain accounts for only about 2–3% of the housing stock, which is significantly below the EU average.
Spain’s rapid population growth is placing additional pressure on the market. As of July 1, 2026, the country’s population stood at a record 49.80 million, an increase of 444,200 from the previous year. At the same time, Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) explicitly states that the population increase is driven by people born abroad, while the number of residents born in Spain is declining.
The number of residents in Spain born abroad reached 10.29 million by mid-year, accounting for more than one-fifth of the country’s population. The number of residents with foreign citizenship stood at 7.44 million, having increased by 87,200 in the second quarter alone.
According to the latest comprehensive breakdown from the INE, the largest foreign communities consist of citizens of Morocco—about 969,000,
Colombia—677,000, Romania—609,000, Venezuela—378,000, Italy—346,000, and the United Kingdom—266,000. There are also significant communities of people from Peru, China, Ukraine, and Latin American countries.
The influx continues in 2026. In the second quarter alone, approximately 34,000 Colombian citizens, 23,300 Venezuelans, and 21,100 Moroccans arrived in Spain. In the first quarter, Ukrainians were among the largest groups of new arrivals—about 25,700 people.
Separate statistics from Spain’s Ministry of Migration show that as of the end of June 2026, 353,000 Ukrainian citizens already held valid residence permits, mainly thanks to the temporary protection mechanism.
The growth of the foreign population cannot be considered the sole cause of the housing crisis; experts attribute it primarily to a decade of insufficient construction. However, migration significantly increases the number of households and the demand for rentals, especially in large cities and economically active coastal regions. Given the construction of approximately 100,000 units per year, the additional population growth of hundreds of thousands of people becomes a significant factor in the further rise in housing costs.
Thus, the housing crisis in Spain is driven by several factors: a chronic shortage of new construction, an increase in the number of households, a limited supply of affordable rental housing, internal migration to major cities, foreign buyers, and the tourism sector. Rapid population growth due to immigration exacerbates the existing shortage, but is not its root cause.
In the first half of 2026, foreign citizens purchased 51,627 residential properties in Spain, which is approximately 4% more than during the same period last year and marks the highest figure in the history of relevant statistics from Spanish registries.
The second quarter proved to be the most active: foreigners concluded more than 26,8 thousand transactions, and their share of all registered housing purchases reached 15.98%—a historic high, according to data from the Colegio de Registradores de España.
At the same time, the overall Spanish housing market, on the contrary, cooled off somewhat in the second quarter. The number of transactions fell by 5.7% compared to the previous quarter—to 167,934 thousand, with sales of new-construction properties dropping by 11.5% to 34,919 thousand. Thus, foreign demand strengthened against the backdrop of a decline in overall buyer activity.
British citizens remained the largest group of foreign buyers in the first half of the year. They purchased 3,567 properties, although the number of transactions fell by approximately 10% year-over-year.
Dutch citizens came in a close second—with 3,489 purchases, a 12% increase compared to the first half of 2025. The gap between the two largest groups was just 78 transactions. In the second quarter alone, British buyers closed 1,843 deals, while Dutch buyers closed 1,830.
Official statistics for the second quarter show that British buyers accounted for 6.99% of all foreign transactions, while Dutch citizens accounted for 6.94%. Germans came in third with a 6.11% share.
Germany retained its third place among the largest foreign markets, although demand from German buyers declined slightly over the first half of the year—by approximately 2%. At the same time, the number of purchases by Italian citizens rose by 11%, by Poles—also by 11%, by French citizens—by 3%, and by Irish citizens—by 6%. Belgian demand, on the other hand, fell by approximately 16%.
Thus, the structure of foreign demand in Spain is becoming increasingly diversified. Just ten years ago, British buyers were significantly ahead of other nationalities, whereas now the gap between the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and the next group of European buyers has narrowed considerably. In the first quarter of 2026, for example, British and Dutch buyers accounted for 6.82% and 6.56%, respectively, of foreign purchases.
The most detailed official report from the Colegio de Registradores for the first quarter of 2026 shows that Ukrainians ranked 10th among foreign buyers, accounting for 3.08% of all foreign real estate transactions; Ukrainian citizens made approximately 765 purchases over the three-month period.
In terms of the number of transactions at the start of the year, Ukrainians trailed behind the British, Dutch, Moroccans, Germans, Italians, French, Romanians, Poles, and Belgians, but outpaced citizens of China, Sweden, Ireland, the U.S., and Russia.
By comparison, Chinese nationals accounted for 2.69% of foreign purchases, while Russians accounted for only 1.44%. Thus, the share of Ukrainians was more than twice that of Russians.
The full official report for the first half of the year, broken down by nationality, has not yet been presented in the registrars’ brief press release; therefore, the exact number of purchases made by Ukrainians over the six-month period should be interpreted with caution. If the share remains at around 3%, this could amount to approximately 1,500 transactions for January–June; however, this is an estimated figure and not a separately published official statistic.
In support of these statistics, Ukraine’s largest international real estate agency—HomiUm—notes a steady increase in demand for real estate in Spain and confirms the long-term investment potential of this market.
According to the company’s CEO, Artur Brazilevsky: “One in five of our agency’s clients buys real estate specifically in Spain.”
The opposite trend is observed among Russian citizens. In the first half of the year, Russians purchased fewer than 1,000 properties, and the number of transactions fell by more than 20% year-over-year.
In the second quarter, the share of foreign buyers reached 32.27% in the Balearic Islands and 31.03% in the Valencian Community. At the same time, the share of foreign buyers increased in all of the country’s autonomous communities.
In the first quarter, a high concentration of foreign demand was also observed in the Canary Islands—22.78% of transactions—and in the Region of Murcia—21.73%. In the province of Alicante, foreigners accounted for about 44.7% of home sales, and in Málaga, more than a third.
Overall, over the past 12 months, foreign citizens have purchased approximately 99,400 homes in Spain, meaning the market has come very close to the 100,000 mark for foreign transactions per year.
The growth in international demand is occurring alongside a sharp rise in real estate prices. The average registered price of housing in the second quarter reached a new all-time high of 2,487 euros per square meter, increasing by 2.4% quarter-over-quarter and by 9.2% year-over-year. The resale index showed even more significant year-over-year growth—16.7%.
Thus, despite a decline in the total number of transactions in Spain, foreign demand continues to strengthen. At the same time, the market is becoming less dependent on traditional British and German buyers: the role of the Netherlands, Poland, and a number of other European countries is growing, while Ukrainians remain among the most prominent nationalities in the Spanish real estate market.
Brazilevsky, FOREIGNER, Homium, HOUSING, REAL ESTATE, SPAIN, UKRAINE
