Market Trends

Romanians and the house market in Spain: trends, steps and taxes

by André Piti On 03/31/2022

The prices of the house market in Spain have been rising steadily since 2016, despite the COVID-19 outbreak. In fact, in 2020, it showed an average prices growth during the second quarter of the year.

Sale prices increased by 2.1% year-on-year overall, while new-build prices rose by 4.2% and second-hand homes increasing by 1.8%.

According to the Consejo General del Notariado, in the ten-years span of 2008-2018 Romanians citizens’ property buying rate in Spain was 8 times bigger.

Indeed, Romanians have shown love to the Iberic peninsula, to the point that they would mostly buy a house to live there.

Check this list of crazy houses in Spain.

3 steps to buy a resale property – explore the house market in Spain

Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia are the top rated cities for Romanians, according to the Spanish Property Registry. Furthermore, only 37% of the property purchases done by Romanians in Spain are done with a mortgage.

Nonetheless, the 84% of them prefer to buy a resale property, rather than a new-built home. Let’s see what is the process to buy one in Spain in three simplified steps.

Make an offer

After having reached an agreement with the vendor, your lawyer will carry out the necessary due diligence and check the contracts. Once you get the okay from your lawyer (never before), you can sign a private contract with the vendor and make an initial payment.

Notary

You will then have to sign the deeds before Notary and will have a preparation time of 1-3 months to collect your funds.

Register your name

The final stage is to inscribe your title in the property register, paying any relevant taxes and setting up utility connections.

Expenses and taxes to buy a property in Spain

Fees for buying a property in Spain vary from area to area, and many are negotiable. Intuitively, lawyers or estate agents have no fixed fees.

As a buyer you will have to pay the majority of the costs, which are generally:

• Property transfer tax: 6–10% for resale existing properties
• Notary costs, title deed tax, and land registration fee: about 1–2.5%
• Legal fees: about 1–2%

The seller usually pays the estate agent fees in Spain, which are usually around 3% of the final sale price.

If you are a Romanian citizen interested in buying a property in Spain access a wide array of households in our property listing.

André Pitì