A new law expected to be passed in July this year will give automatic residency to non European Union citizens who choose to invest more than €500,000 in Spanish property and this is encouraging buyers from Asia.
Last year, more than €5 billion was invested by foreigners in property in Spain, mainly from the Northern European Market but increasingly estate agents are seeing interest from the Asia Pacific and Russian markets.
For example, agent Lucas Fox says that some 80% of the properties sold in 2012 were to non Spanish clients and it has found that investors from Asia are particularly keen on buying in Barcelona and Ibiza. It puts this down to the proposed new law.
‘Most Chinese investors want to buy a property in Barcelona because, not only are they getting a good investment, but there is now the opportunity to acquire Spanish residency at the same time. What’s more, the market is particularly attractive given the historic low price,’ said SQFT director Han Bin which is working in collaboration with Lucas Fox.
Jason Ham, Lucas Fox’s business development manager who is based in Ibiza, said in less than a year there has been a huge amount of interest in both Catalunya and the Balearics.
A group of interested buyers from China are due to arrive in Barcelona towards the end of May. The group will then travel to Ibiza where the Lucas Fox Ibiza team will showcase some of its most attractive properties on the island.
‘We have seen Chinese investment in many corners of the world but this is the first time that we have seen interest in Ibiza. Thanks to the proposed changes in residency laws for property investors outside of the European Union, we expect to see increasingly more interest from the Asia-Pacific region as well as Russia and the United States,’ said Ham.
Besides being presented with unique investment opportunities, the Chinese delegation’s visit will coincide with many of Ibiza’s opening season parties and events. The group will be attending the International Music Summit, one of Ibiza’s most important music festivals, celebrated in the Old Town and hosted by some of the world’s leading DJs.
Overall foreign investment in Spanish real estate increased by 17% in 2012, to the highest level since 2004, according to the latest figures from the Bank of Spain.
Foreigners spent €5.54 billion on Spanish property last year, up from 4.7 billion in 2011, and a 52% increase compared to the total of 3.6 billion in 2009.