Almost one out of four residential property transactions in the Region of Murcia have been carried out by foreigners. Of the more than 21,000 transactions, over 5,000 have been conducted by foreigners, according to reports provided by the Property Registrars. This data exemplifies the foreigners' fondness for the Region of Murcia.

This information helps to understand that, despite the difficulties many citizens face in accessing their first home purchase, prices continue to rise. All this is part of that perfect storm reflecting an excess of demand, scarce supply, and financing difficulties. Recently, a report by the Economic and Social Council of the Region suggested that the Region would need about 8,000 homes from those being built per year. In another report, the real estate portal Idealista pointed out that access to housing in the Region of Murcia continues to pose serious difficulties for many families wishing to enjoy their first home. The scarcity of available supply and the increase in prices continue to paint a gloomy picture for residents in the Region. According to Idealista's data, the effort a family must make, that is, the percentage of household income needed to access a home, grew by 3.5% for those who decide to buy and by 0.4% for those who opt for renting.

Foreigners choose the Valencian Community as their first option

The Valencian Community had the highest number of transactions in 2023, with about 28,000 house purchases by foreigners. This accounts for over 29% of the total in the entire autonomous community, and more than three out of every 10 house purchases in Spain. Following Valencia, in terms of the total number of houses acquired by foreigners, Andalusia stands out with just over 17,500 transactions and Catalonia with almost 15,000. At a greater distance, the Canary Islands appear, surpassing 7,000 transactions; the Balearic Islands and the Region, both above 5,000, and Madrid, almost reaching 4,500.

Despite the growing importance of foreigners, there was a fall in housing sales during 2023 across Spain. On this occasion, the Property Registrars ended the last year with a decrease of 9.8% compared to 2022. This means 583,042 registered transactions in Spain, the second-best figure of the Registry Statistics since 2007, and only surpassed by the extraordinary performance of 2022.

Transactions of used housing accounted for 81.4% of the total volume, with 474,658 sales, representing a year-on-year decrease of 10.7%. Meanwhile, there were 108,384 transactions of new housing, with a reduction of 5.5%.