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ARCHIVED - Property sales to non-Spaniards in Murcia down by 18 per cent in 2020
Pandemic travel restrictions take their toll as any Brexit effect is hidden by the coronavirus crisis
Professionals working in the residential property market in Spain are in general optimistic that the sector will begin to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the second half of 2021, but one aspect where the impact is being particularly keenly felt at present is the number of purchases being made by non-Spaniards.
This may help to explain the fact that, according to Spain’s notaries, while the number of sales completed during the third quarter of 2020 was actually 4.5 per cent higher than in the same period the year before, the country’s property registrars report that in the first half of last year the number of purchases made by non-Spaniards was down by 37.4 per cent in comparison with 2019, with even more significant falls noted in the cases of buyers from the UK, Ireland, Russia, China and Switzerland. This is likely to continue until such time as travel restrictions are phased out, although the market will not necessarily suffer too badly in the coastal areas where property sales to foreigners are generally most common: at present more and more Spaniards are searching for homes away from the large inland cities as working from home becomes more common and the attraction of extra living space, both indoor and outdoor, is increased by the lockdowns and restrictions of the last year.
The pandemic and Brexit affecting the Costa Cálida
This appears to be the case in the Region of Murcia, where regional newspaper La Verdad reports that the number of sales made by non-Spaniards last year showed a fall of 18 per cent up to the end of November. With just one month left to be added into the annual totals foreign nationals had acquired just over 2,500 homes in the Costa Cálida in 2020, well short of the 3,341 reported the year before, and this category accounted for approximately 18.3 per cent of all transactions, the lowest proportion in the last five years.
Adding to the uncertainty regarding Covid, of course, are the doubts over the long-term effect of Brexit in terms of the ability of people from the UK – by far the most important source of non-Spanish buyers in Murcia – to purchase and enjoy holiday or retirement homes in the Costa Cálida. However, promoters and estate agents report continued interest from the British, although the number of sales being completed has dropped off sharply since travel restrictions were re-introduced after the summer.
Most likely it will not be possible to evaluate the effect of Brexit until the pandemic restrictions are finally lifted, and the issues created for buyers by the departure of the UK from the EU have been ironed out, but it is worth recalling that in 2019 UK nationals accounted for over a third of all purchases made by non-Spaniards in Murcia. The next highest proportions were those attributed to Morocco (19.6 per cent) and Belgium (7.4 per cent).
Since the actual departure of the UK from the EU all sorts of details relating to property transactions including the change in taxation levels for those owning properties in Spain but living elsewhere, have come to light and the reality of following the bureaucratic procedures required to make a move out to Spain and acquire residency has promoted a significant level of queries on social media as those who have always dreamed of making a permanent move abroad re-evaluate their options based on the practical implications of the changes brought about by Brexit.
With British nationals currently unable to fly to Spain to view properties due to coronavirus restrictions it is logical that there should be a lower level of actual sales to British nationals at the beginning of 2021, and that during the year market conditions will be far from “normal”.
Nonetheless, the market in general is responding well to the challenges of the pandemic, and in the third quarter the notaries reported a 9.5 rise in sales figures in the Region. Similarly, after a 6 per cent year-on-year fall in November, the government’s central statistics unit reports that the level of sales activity in the Costa Cálida during the first 11 months of 2020 was 13 per cent lower than the same period in 2019: an important drop, certainly, but not as catastrophic as could have been the case during the on-going coronavirus crisis and less important than the 20 per cent fall seen in the whole of Spain.