British buyers are still swooping on homes in Spain despite the uncertainty of Brexit.
Demand dropped after the Brexit referendum in June 2016, but has steadily bounced back since.
Sales plummeted by 20% in the six months following the vote to leave the European Union, but have recovered.
British buyers have returned to the sunshine following a trend set in the financial crash of 2007.
Then, Brits purchased 10,273 homes, but sales dipped to a low of between 3,000 and 4,000 homes bought every six months until the start of 2014, when the figures started to rise again.
By the end of 2015 and early 2016, demand climbed to 8,000 homes every half-year, falling to 6,772 for the six months following the referendum.
Now, the number of purchases has hit 7,246 and shows every sign of continuing to increase, says the Spanish Association of Notaries, the lawyers who act for buyers and sellers, and the Spanish land Registrars Association.
Pound impacts purchases
In the second half of 2017, British buyers were the top or second top purchasers in nine out of Spain’s 13 autonomous regions, mainly clustered around the south and the Mediterranean coast.
The French are the top buyers in the north, mainly due to the closeness to home.
Besides climate and lifestyle, the big driver for buying a home in Spain seems to be the strength of the Pound against the Euro.
The notaries have analysed the number of home purchases against exchange rates and say more purchases are made when the Pound is strong, making home prices cheaper.
However, home purchases by Brits in Spain were running at double the rate they are now between 2009 and 2013 when the Pound was stronger,notes Spanish property expert Mark Stucklin.