The Costa Blanca housing market, in data
Legado Inmobiliaria's quarterly report on foreign home buying in Spain, the Valencian Community and the province of Alicante, built on official statistics from Spain's Land Registrars and Notaries.
Figures and charts are free for media use — credit “Legado Inmobiliaria” and link to this page.
International demand has decoupled from the rate cycle
Q2 2026 confirms a decoupling: international home buying in the province of Alicante is advancing regardless of the interest-rate cycle. Non-resident buyers — less dependent on Spanish credit — are sustaining demand and keeping Alicante as Spain's leading province for foreign purchases, while supply stays rigid and the Bank of Spain ranks the province among those with the largest housing shortfall. The modules that follow are the evidence for that reading.
46.43%
Foreign buyers in Alicante
Spain's top province · +1.78 pts vs the previous quarter
15.98%
Foreign buyers in Spain
All-time high in the registry series
2,267 €/m²
Average price in Alicante
+2.4% quarterly · +11.7% year-on-year
12,298
Home sales in Alicante (quarter)
51,392 over the last 12 months
Source: Land Registrars' quarterly real estate statistics. Price levels are quarterly; year-on-year changes are computed on the rolling 12-month series.
Three takeaways from the quarter, each verified against the primary source. Quote them as they are.
Foreigners buy nearly half of all homes sold in Alicante
46.43% of home sales in the province in Q2 2026 went to foreign buyers — the highest share in Spain (+1.78 pts vs the previous quarter).
Foreign home buying hits an all-time high in Spain
Foreign buyers signed 15.98% of Spain's home sales this quarter — roughly 26,800 purchases, the highest weight in the whole registry series.
Foreign buyers pay 53% more than Spaniards in Alicante
An average of 218,574 € per purchase versus 143,160 € (Q2 2025, provincial notarial statistics).
Where foreign buyers matter most
The ten provinces with the highest share of home sales to foreign buyers in Q2 2026.
| # | Province | Foreign share | Chg. (pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alicante | 46.43% | +1.78 |
| 2 | Málaga | 37.01% | +2.71 |
| 3 | Illes Balears | 32.27% | +3.38 |
| 4 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 32.25% | +6.2 |
| 5 | Las Palmas | 26.55% | +6.41 |
| 6 | Girona | 25.48% | +0.78 |
| 7 | Murcia | 23.71% | +1.98 |
| 8 | Almería | 20.96% | +3.12 |
| 9 | Tarragona | 17.65% | +2.41 |
| 10 | Barcelona | 16.49% | +2.62 |
Change in percentage points versus the previous quarter. Source: Spanish Land Registrars.
Who is buying homes in Spain
Spain registered 167,934 home sales this quarter (−5.7% quarter-on-quarter), and the average new mortgage hit a record 176,453 €.
| Nationality | Purchases (qtr) | Share of foreign |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1,843 | 6.99% |
| Netherlands | 1,830 | 6.94% |
| Germany | 1,612 | 6.11% |
| Morocco | 1,606 | 6.09% |
| Romania | 1,504 | 5.7% |
| Italy | 1,353 | 5.13% |
| France | 1,310 | 4.97% |
| Poland | 1,143 | 4.33% |
Where foreign buyers come from
- European Union57.39%
- Rest of Europe16.75%
- Africa8.83%
- Asia6.75%
- South America6.35%
- North America2.87%
- Oceania and other regions1.06%
Breakdown of foreign purchases in Spain by the buyer's region of origin.
The province of Alicante, in detail
Registry data for Q2 2026 in the province with Spain's highest share of foreign buyers.
New-build homes
2,780 €/m²
+10.7% year-on-year
Resale homes
2,153 €/m²
€/m² this quarter
Sales this quarter
12,298
−2.5% quarter-on-quarter
New-build sales
2,161
Registered this quarter
Last 12 months
51,392
−5.3% year-on-year
Valencian Community
31.03%
Spain's #2 region by foreign-buyer share
What new-build homes really cost on the Costa Blanca
Average price per square metre of homes sold before a notary, with new-build shown separately from resale, town by town (12 months to May 2026). A notarial base, different from the registry data used elsewhere in this report.
| Town | New-build | Resale | New-build premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alicante (province) | 3,077 €/m²6,570 sales | 1,848 €/m²45,353 sales | +66% |
| Benidorm | 7,218 €/m²184 sales | 2,635 €/m²1,770 sales | +174% |
| Calp | 4,481 €/m²40 sales · small sample | 2,766 €/m²893 sales | +62% |
| Xàbia | 3,975 €/m²216 sales | 3,469 €/m²819 sales | +15% |
| Torrevieja | 3,784 €/m²863 sales | 2,007 €/m²5,691 sales | +89% |
| Dénia | 3,777 €/m²432 sales | 2,706 €/m²1,326 sales | +40% |
| Orihuela | 3,039 €/m²706 sales | 2,149 €/m²3,819 sales | +41% |
| Alicante ciudad | 2,763 €/m²444 sales | 1,947 €/m²5,720 sales | +42% |
Average price per m² of homes sold before a notary over the 12 months to May 2026, with new-build and resale shown separately. Source: Spanish Notaries' Statistical Portal. This is a notarial base — different from the registry data used elsewhere in this report — and is not mixed with it. The “premium” is how much more expensive a new-build square metre is than a resale one in each town; where the new-build sample is small, the figure is indicative.
Most foreign buyers don't live in Spain
The Housing Ministry's transaction statistics (notarial base) split foreign buyers into residents and non-residents, province by province — with Q1 2026 data already published.
Foreign buyers in Alicante
48.31%
Housing Ministry series · Q1 2026
Non-resident buyers
4,101
68% of this quarter's foreign purchases
Foreign residents in Spain
1,888
Purchases this quarter
Quarterly home purchases by foreigners in the province of Alicante, split by buyer residency. Source: Spanish Ministry of Housing (transaction statistics, notarial base). A different statistical base from the registry data — shares from the two blocks are not directly comparable.
What non-resident buyers pay (H2 2025)
3,242 €/m²
Average price paid by non-resident foreign buyers in Spain, versus 1,963 €/m² for foreign residents and 1,839 €/m² for Spanish buyers.
40%
The Valencian Community's share of all non-resident purchases in Spain: 9,926 deals in the half-year, more than any other region.
Source: Spanish Notaries' Statistical Information Centre, half-yearly report on home purchases by foreigners (H2 2025). The breakdown reaches region level only; there is no provincial data.
Foreign buying in Alicante, quarter by quarter
Notarial series for the province of Alicante: quarterly home sales by buyer nationality and the average price each group pays. Latest available update: Q2 2025.
Quarterly home sales in the province of Alicante by buyer nationality. Source: Spanish Notaries.
Average price paid: foreign vs Spanish buyers
| Year | Foreign buyer | Spanish buyer |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 139,023 € | 96,729 € |
| 2019 | 144,153 € | 100,398 € |
| 2020 | 154,039 € | 105,331 € |
| 2021 | 166,982 € | 112,939 € |
| 2022 | 175,628 € | 115,615 € |
| 2023 | 177,546 € | 114,934 € |
| 2024 | 197,048 € | 130,788 € |
| 2025(S1) | 216,603 € | 137,437 € |
What each nationality pays (Q2 2025)
| Netherlands | 325,725 € |
| Norway | 292,482 € |
| Belgium | 277,395 € |
| Germany | 249,729 € |
| France | 237,285 € |
| United Kingdom | 229,411 € |
| Poland | 221,087 € |
| Sweden | 216,545 € |
Nationality ranking in Alicante (2024)
- 1.United Kingdom3,594
- 2.Netherlands3,328
- 3.Belgium3,092
- 4.Poland2,933
- 5.Germany1,942
- 6.Ukraine1,581
- 7.Sweden1,400
- 8.France1,320
- 9.Russia954
- 10.Ireland895
Fastest-growing (2024 vs 2023)
- Estonia+49.54%
- Lithuania+38.53%
- Poland+35.85%
- China+26.69%
- Netherlands+22.49%
- Ukraine+12.93%
Each nationality's favourite town (2024)
Poland
- Torrevieja1,073
- Orihuela473
- Santa Pola210
United Kingdom
- Orihuela864
- Rojales308
- Torrevieja300
Belgium
- Orihuela755
- Torrevieja349
- Pilar de la Horadada192
Netherlands
- Orihuela384
- Torrevieja291
- Xàbia/Jávea238
2024 purchases by municipality and buyer nationality. Source: Spanish Notaries.
Two in-house indicators for reading the market
Legado Inmobiliaria distils the official statistics into two proprietary indices, updated every quarter: one measures how much weight buyers living outside Spain carry; the other, how much more expensive a new-build square metre is.
Legado International Buying Index
33.1%
Q1 2026 · non-residents as a share of the whole provincial market
Home sales signed by non-residents in Spain, as a percentage of the entire market in the province of Alicante.
Non-residents as a share of the market
Quarterly series of the Legado International Buying Index: non-resident home purchases as a percentage of the total market in the province of Alicante. Compiled by Legado Inmobiliaria from the Spanish Ministry of Housing transaction statistics (notarial base). Not comparable with the registry shares used elsewhere in this report.
Legado New-Build Premium
+66%
3,077 €/m² for new-build versus 1,848 €/m² for resale (12 months to May 2026)
How much more expensive a new-build square metre is than a resale one in the province of Alicante, at notarial prices.
Compiled by Legado Inmobiliaria from the Spanish Notaries' Statistical Portal (average price per m² of homes sold before a notary, 12 months to May 2026). A notarial base, different from the registry data; published with its source and period.
«International buyers have decoupled from the rate cycle: they choose the Costa Blanca for its climate, legal certainty and lifestyle, not for the price of money. That is why Alicante leads foreign buying in Spain while supply fails to keep up.»
Strong demand, scarce housing: the Bank of Spain's diagnosis
The Bank of Spain's 2025 Annual Report — using notarial statistics, different from the registry data elsewhere in this report — puts numbers on the demand-supply gap and places Alicante at the centre of the map.
33.3%
Non-resident buying in Alicante
2025 · the highest share in Spain, versus 7.4% nationally and 27.9% in Málaga
750,000
Accumulated housing shortfall (2021-2025)
52.5% is concentrated in six provinces, Alicante among them
240,000
New households in 2025
against housing output falling by −9%
The six shortfall provinces
Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, València, Murcia and Málaga
«The Bank of Spain confirms it from a different source: one in three homes sold in Alicante is bought by someone who does not live in Spain. This is not a blip — it is a structural shift in who buys on the Costa Blanca.»
Source: Bank of Spain, 2025 Annual Report (chapter 2), based on notarial statistics and data from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. A notarial base — like the Ministry of Housing and the Notaries, different from the Land Registrars' registry data — it is neither added to nor compared with the registry shares in this report. The Bank of Spain's non-resident share (33.3%, 2025) independently corroborates the Legado International Buying Index.
What appraisers, banks and consultancies say
The close of Q2 2026 sits within a national market that appraisers and bank research describe as rising, though decelerating. Sociedad de Tasación put new-build housing at an all-time high in its series (€3,300/m² nationally at the end of 2025, +8.9%) and forecasts gains close to 9% in 2026; Tinsa measured a 17.3% year-on-year rise in finished housing in the province of Alicante this quarter, with Benidorm leading the Valencian Community. BBVA Research raised its forecast to +12% for 2026 and CaixaBank Research speaks of "a new expansionary phase", more contained (+5.7%), both pointing to the same cause: rigid supply against firm demand. Against that backdrop, prime international consultancies do not expect foreign demand to ease on the Mediterranean coast.
Market context drawn from third-party public analysis (Sociedad de Tasación, Tinsa, BBVA Research, CaixaBank Research and Savills), cited as a frame. It is not part of the official statistics reworked elsewhere in this report.
Where the quarter points
Q2 2026 leaves a clear picture: international buying is sustaining the Costa Blanca market regardless of the rate cycle, the province of Alicante leads Spain's foreign demand in both statistical bases — registry and notarial — and supply is not keeping up. As long as the Bank of Spain keeps the housing shortfall in its diagnosis and forecasts point to rising prices, the Costa Blanca's gap over the national average has room to widen. The next edition will measure whether the pattern holds.
How this report is compiled
Every quarter, Legado Inmobiliaria reworks Spain's official market statistics: the Land Registrars' quarterly real estate statistics (sales, prices and buyer nationality), the Housing Ministry's transaction statistics — notarial base, with the provincial split between foreign residents and non-residents — and the Notaries' statistics: the half-yearly report on foreign purchases and the provincial Alicante series by nationality. No proprietary listing data is used. Every figure is checked against the primary document before publication; the sources follow different calendars and statistical bases, and each block states its own.
- Spanish Land Registrars Association — Real Estate Registry Statistics, Q2 2026 (quarterly publication no. 89)
- Spanish Ministry of Housing (MIVAU) — Real estate transaction statistics, provincial series by buyer residency (through Q1 2026)
- Spanish Notaries Statistical Information Centre — Property sales in the province of Alicante (2018–Q2 2025 series)
- Spanish Notaries Statistical Information Centre — Home purchases by foreigners, H2 2025
- Spanish Notaries' Statistical Portal — real housing prices (new-build and resale)
- Banco de España — Annual Report 2025, chapter 2 (with data from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility)
Next edition: with Q3 2026 data, around six weeks after the quarter closes.
Are you a journalist?
All data and charts in this report are free to use — credit “Legado Inmobiliaria” and link to this page. If you need a breakdown that isn't here — by town, nationality or over time — or comment on the Costa Blanca market, write to us: we reply the same day.
Legado Inmobiliaria is a Benidorm-based agency specialising in foreign buyers of new-build homes on the Costa Blanca. Pedro Torres Martínez, registered agent RAICV no. 6440.