Housing Market Pressured by Surge in Foreign Arrivals in Spain

According to a recent report, more than half of the foreigners who have entered Spain did so after 2020, adding strain to an already burdened housing market.

Recently, a wave of protests calling for “affordable housing” has brought Spain’s ongoing housing crisis back into focus. This has been a persistent issue for years, but the recent demonstrations have reignited discussions.

In light of these protests, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the socialist party signed two housing-related decrees that were previously rejected by Congress. Following this development, Sanchez announced a snap election set for November 29.

The newspaper ABC highlighted that, while discussions have centered around various causes of the housing crisis—such as “vulture funds, speculation,” and “tourist apartments”—the impact of the recent influx of migrants into the housing market should not be overlooked.

Citing data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), ABC reported that 42.6 percent of the residents in Spain arrived between 2020 and 2024, which translates to about 9.46 million people. This figure includes both Spanish citizens and non-citizens.

However, it’s worth noting that the census data cuts off at January 1, 2025, which means newcomers arriving after this date are not included. ABC emphasized that this “is by no means a minor discrepancy,” as foreign arrivals have continued at an almost identical pace.

According to the newspaper, from January 2025 to July 2026, Spain welcomed another 828,000 foreign-born residents.

If we take a conservative estimate that the number of those who arrived before 2020 hasn’t changed, those who have come since then now represent about 47 percent of the total population. In simpler terms, that’s nearly one in two—without even considering new arrivals between July and October of this year.

The statistics become even more striking when broken down by nationality. ABC reported that, looking specifically at nationality instead of country of birth, of the approximately 6.91 million foreigners living in Spain as of January 1, 2025, nearly 3.7 million arrived between 2020 and 2024—amounting to 53.5 percent.

To illustrate how significant the impact of this mass migration has been on Spain’s housing market, ABC brought attention to its own estimates from early October, based on official INE statistics. These estimates showed that out of about ten million renters in Spain, around 5.2 million were born abroad.

This implies that foreigners now represent 52 percent of the country’s rental market.

“Such a sudden influx of people, naturally, impacts the housing market, particularly the rental sector. Factors like rental prices, family connections, and access to credit mean that rentals are often the only option for newcomers. Many don’t have family support in Spain or the savings needed to buy a home,” ABC noted.