Foreign Buyers in Spain, 2026: Why Two Sets of Figures Disagree
By Dmitry Mateshin, Founder
One source says foreign purchases of Spanish homes fell 13% in the first half of 2026. Another reports a record. Here is what each counted and what it means for the Costa del Sol.
In October 2026 two sets of figures about foreign buyers in Spain reached the press within days of each other. One said foreign purchases of homes fell by 13% in the first half of the year. The other called the same six months a record. Both come from official bodies. This article sets them side by side, explains what each one measures, and says what we can and cannot conclude for the Costa del Sol.
Two reports, two headlines
The first report comes from the General Council of Notaries and covers deeds signed before a notary. The second comes from the land registry (the registrars) and covers purchases recorded in the registry. Both cover January to June 2026 and compare with earlier periods.
Third-party statistics use different methods and will not match each other exactly. These do not, and the press reports we read do not explain the gap. We therefore set out each result without trying to reconcile them.
What the notaries counted
For the first half of 2026, compared with the same period of 2025, the notary data report:
- 62,327 purchases by foreign buyers, down 13% from 71,625, which is 9,298 fewer and the steepest annual fall since the first half of 2020.
- A foreign share of 18.3% of home sales, down from 19.2% a year earlier and from a peak of 21.3% in the first half of 2023.
- Total private-sector home sales of 341,283, down 8.4%, and purchases by Spanish nationals down 7.3% to 278,956. Foreign purchases therefore fell faster than the market as a whole.
- Non-resident foreign buyers, who mainly buy second homes, down 18% from 27,988 to 22,940. They account for more than half of the total fall while making up 36.8% of foreign transactions.
- Foreign residents, meaning foreigners living in Spain, down 9.7% to 39,387.
What the land registry counted
The registry data, reported by the Spanish press in the middle of October, describe the same six months differently:
- 51,630 purchases by foreign buyers, described as a record for the series, equal to 14.9% of all home sales.
- An increase of 3.8% on the first half of 2025 and of 8% on the previous six months.
- Total home sales of 346,030, down 1.9% on the year.
- A foreign share of 13.92% in the first quarter and 15.98% in the second, the highest in the series.
Where they agree, and where they do not
They agree on the size of the market: roughly 341,000 and 346,000 home sales in the half-year. They disagree on how many went to foreign buyers: 62,327 in one count and 51,630 in the other, a gap of 10,697. They also disagree on the direction compared with last year. The sources we read do not say why. We do not pick a winner, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
What it means for Málaga and the Costa del Sol
Only the registry data break the figures down by province. They report that foreign buyers accounted for 35.7% of home sales in the province of Málaga in the first half of 2026, equal to 6,463 transactions. Alicante was higher at 45.5% and the Balearic Islands lower at 30.5%. For the whole of Andalusia the share was 14.6%.
The notary report, in the articles we read, does not give a Málaga breakdown. It says that many regions saw sales fall, with the sharpest drops in destinations that traditionally attract international demand, without naming them. That means no one can say from these two reports what happened to foreign demand on the Costa del Sol specifically.
What these figures do not tell you
- They do not tell you about prices. A number of purchases is not a price trend, and we draw no conclusion about prices from it.
- They do not tell you about your street. Province-level shares hide large differences between towns and between resale and new developments.
- They do not tell you what happens next. Nothing here is a forecast.
- They are not a measure of our own catalogue. For asking prices by town, see our guide to price per m² town by town.
A selection of homes in Marbella and San Pedro
Market statistics describe the whole country. A purchase is made one home at a time. Here is a selection of homes from our catalogue in Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara:
If you would like a shortlist matched to your budget and plans, see How We Work or browse the Collection.
Read both reports with their limits in mind, then move to the questions that decide your own purchase: the home, its costs, and the legal checks. Our buying guide covers them in order.
This article reports statistics from the General Council of Notaries and from the land registry as described in the Spanish press in October 2026. It is general information, not investment advice, and not a forecast. Property details and prices are confirmed on request.
