Foreign Property Purchases in the Canary Islands Fall by 20.3%
The number of homes bought by overseas purchasers in the Canary Islands has dropped significantly, with new figures showing a 20.3% fall during the first half of 2026. The figures offer a fresh snapshot of the changing property market in the islands, including popular destinations such as Lanzarote.
The data, reported on 15 October and attributed to Spain’s General Council of Notaries, shows that the decline in the Canary Islands was steeper than the 13% reduction recorded across Spain as a whole. Nationwide, foreign buyers completed 62,327 purchases of unrestricted homes during the first six months of the year, representing 18.3% of all transactions.
WHAT DO THE LATEST FIGURES SHOW?
The figures point to a cooling in purchases by foreign nationals, although they do not mean overseas buyers have disappeared from the Spanish property market. Foreign purchasers still accounted for a notable share of sales across the country.
The change also varies according to whether a buyer lives in Spain or purchases from abroad. Foreign residents accounted for around 63% of purchases made by foreign nationals nationally. By contrast, non-resident foreign buyers represented almost 37% of foreign purchases, and their transactions fell by 18%.
The report notes that the decline in non-resident purchases followed the end of Spain’s so-called Golden Visa programme. The figures show a change in buying activity, but they do not by themselves establish that one policy change explains the entire fall.
WHICH NATIONALITIES ARE BUYING PROPERTY IN SPAIN?
The latest national figures also show a shift in the mix of buyers. Purchasers from Morocco completed 4,960 transactions during the first half of 2026, putting them ahead of British buyers, who completed 4,541 purchases. Italian, Romanian and German buyers also featured among the leading groups.
These are figures for Spain overall, rather than a ranking specifically for Lanzarote. Buying patterns can differ between islands and individual towns, so national totals should not be treated as a precise picture of the local market.
WHAT COULD THIS MEAN FOR LANZAROTE?
Lanzarote continues to attract people looking for a holiday home, a permanent move, or a property to use while spending part of the year in the Canary Islands. However, a fall in the number of purchases by foreign nationals does not automatically mean that property prices will fall, or that homes will become more affordable for local residents.
Property prices and availability are influenced by several factors, including the number of homes available for sale, construction, mortgage costs, local demand, and the type and location of properties being sold. The figures cover completed transactions during a specific six-month period; they are not a direct measure of current asking prices or the number of homes available in Lanzarote.
Anyone considering buying property in Lanzarote should therefore look at recent local sales and listings, compare areas carefully, and seek independent legal and tax advice before committing to a purchase.
A CHANGING PROPERTY MARKET
The 20.3% drop is a significant change in foreign home purchases across the Canary Islands and comes amid wider discussion about housing affordability and access to homes for people living on the islands. The coming data releases will help show whether this is a short-term adjustment or part of a longer trend.
For now, the figures provide an important distinction: overseas property purchases have fallen sharply, but the headline percentage alone cannot tell the whole story about prices, availability or the experience of buyers and residents in Lanzarote.
For residents and prospective buyers, the key is to follow reliable local data and assess the market on an area-by-area basis rather than assuming that a regional decline affects every property in the same way.
