‘Brits in Spain stay mainly on the Costa del Sol’ – figures show rise in interest

A leading Spanish home builder has revealed that more than half (54%) of Brits who reserved homes with the firm in 2021 opted for properties in the ever-popular Costa del Sol.

The findings from Taylor Wimpey España found that nearly a quarter (24%) chose homes in the Costa Blanca and 22% in the Balearic Islands. Overall, reservations by Britons have rocketed since August 2021, with neither Covid nor Brexit proving sufficient to dampen buyers' appetite for a second home in the Spanish sun.

Mark Pritchard, sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey España, said: “We were astonished by the huge leap in demand for homes in Spain from British buyers during the second half of 2021. Some months saw levels of reservations that we've not seen in the 64 years that we've been building in Spain. The British love of Spain runs deep and families are determined that neither politics nor the pandemic will get in their way.”

In total, buyers from 34 different nationalities reserved properties with the firm in 2021, with Germans reserving more homes than any other nationality. Britons were a close second.

This reflects the trend in foreign home purchases across the country, with Germans accounting for 10.42% of all foreigners buying in Spain in the year to Q3 2021, and Brits for 9.89%. Overall, foreigners accounted for 10.77% of all property purchases in Spain over that period, figures from the Colegio de Registradores reveal.

The team at Taylor Wimpey España say buyers’ priorities for 2021 were clear – they wanted new homes in quiet areas, ‘with open and flexible spaces’. Given its increasing importance and media coverage, sustainability and energy efficiency were also key priorities for many buyers.

TWE expects these trends to continue into 2022, with communal swimming pools and ‘lush, landscaped gardens’ also retaining their everlasting importance.

“What's particularly interesting as we move into 2022 is that Spanish visitor numbers remain below their pre-Covid levels,” Pritchard added. “Tourism is certainly recovering and we expect that it will continue to do so in 2022. Yet these lower visitor numbers haven't been reflected in the number of people reserving homes with us – quite the opposite. As such, it will be very interesting to see how appetite for holiday homes in Spain pans out over the next few months.”

The firm launched 15 new developments and phases in Spain during 2021, amounting to a total value of €69 million. The company is planning to reveal the first of its 2022 launches shortly.

Those looking to purchase a home in Spain this year could be met with higher prices, with Spanish property values rising fast. Tinsa has reported year-on-year growth of 8.6% as at Q4 2021.

With both high demand and the increasing costs of labour, materials and land projected to push prices up further, British buyers seeking a bargain home in Spain in 2022 would do well not to dawdle, TWE says.