According to the project Relocation.com.ua, citing data from idealista with reference to Banco de Portugal, foreigners invested €3.905 billion in Portuguese real estate in 2025, setting a new record and exceeding the 2024 level by 10.4%. Against this backdrop, the total inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Portugal, conversely, fell by 34.9% to €8.51 billion, while the share of real estate in total FDI rose to 45.9%, or nearly half of all foreign capital.
The geography of this capital remains fairly predictable. The largest volume of accumulated foreign investment in Portugal is concentrated in Greater Lisbon—€113.2 billion, followed by the North of the country—€37.2 billion, and the Algarve—€21.7 billion; together, these three regions account for 80.5% of the total foreign investment stock.
Among the countries from which capital flowed in 2025, Luxembourg stood out—€1.1 billion, the United Kingdom—about €900 million, and Germany—€800 million. At the same time, Banco de Portugal itself notes that jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Spain often serve as intermediary platforms, so the ultimate sources of funds may differ from the country of the direct counterparty.
But if we look not at investment capital but at actual real estate transactions, the picture becomes clearer. The latest detailed official breakdown from INE shows that in 2024, foreign families purchased 38,552 houses and apartments in Portugal, which is 6.7% more than in 2023 and 19.2% higher than the 2019 level. That said, foreigners still remained a minority in the market: in total, families purchased 134,540 properties, of which 95,988 were bought by buyers of Portuguese origin. Among foreign buyers, Brazilians led the way with 7,694 transactions, followed by Angolans with 4,054 and the French with 4,016. Separately, INE noted a rapid increase in the number of Americans: the number of their purchases rose from 537 in 2019 to 1,707 in 2024.
If we broaden the picture and look at all major foreign groups residing in Portugal, it becomes clear that the market demand is much broader than just traditional buyers from Brazil, France, or the United Kingdom. According to AIMA, 1,543,697 foreigners were residing in Portugal as of the end of 2024.
The largest community was Brazilians—484,596 people, followed by Indians—98,616, Ukrainians—79,232, Nepalese—58,086, and British—48,238.
The mortgage market adds a distinct dimension to this picture. According to Banco de Portugal, in 2024, 10.1% of people who took out a mortgage for their primary residence were foreigners. Brazilians again led the way, accounting for 38% of all foreign borrowers; they were followed by Angolans and British nationals. In terms of loan amounts, Brazilians accounted for 30% of foreign mortgage volume, the British for 7%, Americans for 6%, and the French and Italians for 5% each. This shows that in Portugal, foreign demand has long been driven not only by purchases with personal funds but also by full-scale lending.
That is precisely why the Portuguese market should now be viewed from two perspectives. In the first, foreign capital has indeed set a record and continues to fuel the real estate market even after the abolition of “golden visas” for housing. Second, the composition of actual foreign demand is becoming increasingly diverse: as before, Brazilians, Angolans, French, British, and Americans are the most active buyers, but within the country’s demographic structure, the role of Ukrainians, Indians, Nepalese, and other new communities is becoming increasingly prominent. For the market, this means one thing: the foreign presence in the Portuguese housing market is not weakening, but changing form.
https://relocation.com.ua/foreigners-break-record-in-portugals-housing-market/
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 number of foreigners with a valid residence permit in Slovakia as of June 30, 2025, was 342,048, which is 14,676 more than a year earlier (+4.5%).
According to data from the Border and Foreign Police Department (UHCP) of the Slovak Ministry of the Interior, 287,014 of this number were third-country nationals and 55,034 were EU citizens.
Ukrainian citizens remain the largest group of foreigners in the country, with 201,116 people (about 59% of the total number of foreigners with valid residence permits).
The largest diasporas also include citizens of Serbia (16,240), the Czech Republic (12,441), Vietnam (11,179), Hungary (9,759), Russia (8,850), Romania (6,411), Poland (5,994), India (5,732), and Georgia (4,676).
The Cyprus Parliament is considering initiatives that could significantly tighten the rules on property purchases by third-country nationals and foreign-controlled companies, amid discussions about housing affordability and the risks of uncontrolled land sales.
In particular, the AKEL party has submitted two bills to the House of Representatives that would introduce measurable restrictions for buyers from countries outside the EU. It is proposed to allow third-country nationals to purchase only one residential property with a size restriction (up to 200 square meters), as well as one office (up to 300 square meters) and one store (up to 200 square meters). At the same time, companies with foreign interests, according to the initiative, should be completely deprived of the right to purchase housing.
Another set of proposals concerns strengthening control over ownership structures: it is envisaged that the ultimate beneficial owner of a transaction will be required to disclose their identity in order to prevent purchases through Cypriot or European companies that are effectively controlled by non-residents from third countries.
AKEL also proposes to ban real estate purchases in areas near critical infrastructure, including ports and airports, as well as in coastal and buffer zones, and to completely ban the sale of forest and agricultural land to foreign buyers from countries outside the EU.
The party says the initiatives aim to protect the right to housing for local households, reduce pressure on prices, and take security factors into account. Discussion of the bills is expected to begin in the relevant committee after the Epiphany holidays.
Who mainly buys real estate in Cyprus
According to the audit service, in 2024, 4,321 transactions out of 15,797 (27.4%) were made by buyers from countries outside the EU, with the report noting that the actual share may be higher due to purchases through companies registered in the EU or Cyprus.
Statistics presented in parliament by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou for the period from September 2024 to September 2025 show that the most active foreign buyers are British, Israeli, and Russian, with notable transactions by citizens of Greece, Lebanon, and Romania. In terms of regions, for example, the British led in Paphos (890 purchases), followed by Israelis (683) and Russians (327), while in Limassol, Russians (846) and Israelis (571) were the largest buyers.
Ukrainian citizens have also appeared in the rankings of the top 10 most active real estate buyers in Cyprus in different years.
In Spain, foreign property buyers have slowed down a bit, but they’re still the main drivers of the market – especially folks from the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.
According to the Spanish property registry, foreigners purchased nearly 23,700 residential properties in the third quarter of 2025, which is 4% less than in the same period in 2024. The share of transactions involving non-residents fell to 13.6% from 14.9% a year earlier, but is still about 36% higher than the average for the last ten years.
Who is buying: top nations in the Spanish housing market
In the third quarter of 2025, the largest groups of foreign buyers were:
Among other important buyers in the third quarter, moderate growth was recorded from Romania and Morocco, while demand from France, Italy, Belgium, and Poland declined slightly. Interest from buyers in the US and Morocco remained close to last year’s level. Demand from the Russian Federation and China fell significantly, by approximately 34% and 23%, respectively.
The full picture for 2024
According to the summary data for 2024, foreigners bought about 93,000 residential properties in Spain, accounting for about 14.6% of all transactions on the market. This is one of the highest figures in the history of observations.
According to the results for 2024, the main national groups are as follows:
Thus, the top ten in terms of purchase volume is primarily made up of Europeans – British, Germans, Moroccans, Dutch, Romanians, Italians, French, and Poles, supplemented by buyers from China and Ukraine.
Regions that attract foreigners
The most popular regions among foreign buyers remain the Mediterranean coast and islands: the Valencian Community, Andalusia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands. They account for the vast majority of foreign purchases, and in some provinces, such as Alicante and Malaga, the share of foreigners in the total volume of transactions reaches 30-40%.
What does the correction in demand mean?
Experts view the slight decline in the number of transactions in the third quarter of 2025 as a technical correction after a record-breaking 2024 rather than a reversal of the trend.
The share of foreigners remains significantly higher than the pre-crisis average, and Spain continues to attract buyers with its combination of climate, relatively affordable prices, and developed infrastructure.
At the same time, the structure of demand is gradually changing: the positions of the British and Germans remain strong, but buyers from the Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe, and North Africa are playing an increasingly prominent role. For the local market, this means that the high proportion of foreign buyers will remain, but with greater diversity in terms of nationalities and sources of capital.
Source: https://open4business.com.ua/hto-z-inozemcziv-lidyruye-z-pokupky-zhytla-v-ispaniyi-analiz/
