As a lot of Europeans know, Spain is a nice Mediterranean country with beautiful coasts. Therefore, Spain is known as a country where a lot of Europeans own their vacation and retirement properties. Barcelona and Madrid also have a lot of foreign buyers for investment or residence.
For Spain there are no restrictions on property or land ownership for citizens. Also, there are no restrictions on property ownership for foreigners. However, there is property taxation to take into account.
FACTS
77%
of the households in Spain own real estate
25.8
million dwellings in Spain
30.8%
average of the rent to income ratio in Spain
Laws and Regulations
Dual agency and open listing happen on a day-to-day basis in Spain. However, there is a current trend based on exclusive representation for mainly the seller but also the buyer agency.
The commission fees are mostly paid by the seller. However, in certain regions in Spain the seller and buyer pay for their own agents separately or for their dual agent.
There are no licensing laws/government regulation of the real estate industry in Spain except for Catalonia. Here an official registration is required which includes certain type of education. More regions want to follow Catalonia with these requirements but the European Community prefers no requirements. This to protect the entry barriers to the market.
In Spain referral fees are paid and the percentage for the commission necessary to pay is 25 % of the side.
Search portals
There is one private Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Spain that operates nationwide but about 100 MLS websites that are focused locally. The main property portal for consumer property searches is Idealista.
