Most appealing Malaga municipalities for foreign home buyers

Ahead of it are Alicante, where almost one in three prospective buyers is a foreign national, and the Balearic Islands, with 28.2%. In fourth place, behind Malaga, is Santa Cruz de Tenerife (26.5%).

In addition to these four provinces, there are ten others in the country, all of them coastal, where foreign demand accounts for more than 10% of the total: Girona (22.5%) and Las Palmas (20.3%) account for more than 20%. Three provinces fall within the 15% to 20% range: Almeria (17.4%), Murcia (15.8%) and Granada (15%).

Another group of provinces comprises those where foreign demand accounts for between 10% and 15% of the total: these are Tarragona (13.4%), Valencia (11.7%), Cadiz (11.5%) and Huelva (11.1%).

The report also details which nationalities are most interested in property in each of the provinces. The British, Dutch and Swedish most opt for Malaga province.

By municipality, the town with the highest proportion of foreign demand is Cómpeta, at 61.3%, with British, Dutch and German nationals being the main buyers. There are only three towns in Spain where the proportion is higher, all three in the Balearic Islands: Canyamel (67.2%), Cala d'Or (67.1%) and Cala Ratjada (63.3%).

After Cómpeta, in the province of Malaga, is Frigiliana (57.1%), where British, Dutch and Swedish buyers are also the most interested buyers. Nationwide, it is the sixth most sought-after town by foreign buyers, behind those mentioned above and Oria, in Almeria.

After Frigiliana, two municipalities in Alicante (Moraira and Benitachell) feature prominently, followed by another municipality in Malaga, Nerja, where more than half of demand, 56.1%, comes from abroad, with Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands being the main sources of demand.

So these three towns in the province of Malaga are among the 20 in Spain with the highest proportion of foreign demand. In Andalucía, in addition to these and the town in Almeria, there is also Iznájar, in Cordoba, with 43.9%. The remaining towns in the ranking are in provinces such as Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas, Girona and Murcia.

The report also includes an analysis of provincial capitals. The city of Malaga is once again third in the ranking, accounting for 14.85% of foreign demand, with the US its most prominent market, having overtaken the British and the Dutch.

"The city is establishing itself as the destination of choice for high-net-worth American buyers," the report states.

Ahead of Malaga is Alicante, which tops the ranking of provincial capitals with the greatest international appeal, with 21.8%. Its buyer profile is diverse. No single nationality clearly dominates here, as the top three spots French, German and British buyers share.

In second place is Palma, with 18.5%, but there Germans account for 44% of all foreign demand. Some way behind are Swedes (11.7%) and Brits (5.9%).

Foreign demand in Malaga exceeds that recorded in Valencia (13.6%), Barcelona (12.1%), Girona (11.8%) and Tarragona (11.1%). Although, like Cadiz (10.9%), they share with the Costa del Sol capital the growing prominence of US demand.

Below 10%, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (9.8%) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (8.8%) reflect the Canary Islands pattern already evident at provincial level: Germany tops the list, followed by Italy and the UK.

Castellón de la Plana (9.4%) combines a French presence with that of the US and, strikingly, Romania features among the top three nationalities. The capital of Almeria province (8.2%) maintains British dominance, with French and German visitors as the second and third most common nationalities.

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