A Thousand Apartments in 3 Months. Poles Are Storming Real Estate Agencies in Southern Europe
From April to June 2024, Poles purchased as many as 1,005 properties in Spain, which is 205 more than in the previous quarter and 115 more than in the same period of 2023. Evidence of the popularity of Spanish real estate among our compatriots are Polish brokerage offices, whose owners unanimously admit that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has increased Poles’ interest in living in popular Spanish resorts.
In the first half of 2024, our compatriots have already purchased 1,805 houses and apartments on the Iberian Peninsula, 145 more than in the first half of 2023. According to data from Registradores de España, Poles are once again in the top ten foreign investors – with a market share of a record 4.63% in the second quarter of 2024, which is the best result in history. In the same period of 2023, it was 3.92%, and in the whole of the past year on average 3.57% – a constant upward trend is therefore visible.
A record-breaking next quarter and year?
– From the perspective of the past 18 years, the perception of Spanish real estate by Poles has completely changed. Today, we are dealing with record interest, especially visible after the pandemic and aggression against Ukraine in 2022, which motivates our compatriots to geographically diversify their assets. We also have more and more clients who simply want to enjoy the Mediterranean lifestyle by moving permanently to Spain – says Agnieszka Marciniak-Kostrzewa, founder of Agnes Inversiones – the largest Polish real estate agency on the Costa del Sol, which has been observing market changes for 18 years.
Moving to Tenerife. How much does it cost?
We recently wrote about the procedures involved in buying a flat in Tenerife. And no less important: how much does the luxury of owning a house near the ocean cost? Piotr Adamczak from the Zamieszkaj na Teneryfy real estate agency said that Poles most often buy flats with one or two bedrooms with a “combined” purpose, meaning they want to rent the flat commercially for part of the year.
– The average price of real estate purchased by Poles is around 300 thousand euros. You have to add to this the purchase tax, which varies depending on whether you buy on the primary or secondary market. The tax on the purchase from the secondary market is 6.5 percent of the property value, and when buying from a developer – 7 percent. You have to add to this around 3-4 thousand euros for notary fees, entry in the register – says Adamczak.
Developers can’t keep up with construction
There is a group of Poles living in Tenerife. They work primarily in tourism and real estate. Polish travel agencies and Polish real estate agencies are developing intensively there. There is even a Polish shop in small San Juan. However, the majority of Poles buying real estate are people for whom it is a holiday home.
Most people who want to buy a flat – whether for the summer or permanently – choose the south. They want to live in resorts on Costa Adeje or in the vicinity of Puerto de Santiago. Since the 1960s, when the Canary Islands opened up to tourists under General Franco, these areas have been built up with hotels. All this means that developers have nowhere to go. Even if they built twice as many, they would still be happy to find flats. The restrictions mean that flats are scarce and expensive.
This does not stop those who have money – and rather cash, because it is difficult to buy a flat abroad on credit. Piotr Adamczak admits that his agency has sold at least 120 properties a year in the last two or three years. What formalities need to be completed?
– The basis for the purchase is the NIE number, i.e. the tax identification number for foreigners. It is also worth opening a bank account for later property management – explains our interlocutor.
