The war leads Ukrainians to buy more homes than ever in Spain

In the first semester, transactions have broken records and the demand for homes for sale has grown strongly in recent months in different areas of the country.

Nearly eight million Ukrainian citizens have fled their country since the war with Russia broke out earlier this year, according to UNHCR. And thousands of refugees are living in reception accommodation, while others have gone to the homes of relatives or have opted directly to buy a home in different destinations.

In Spain, without going any further, both the demand for and purchases of houses by Ukrainians have skyrocketed in recent months to reach unprecedented figures.

According to data from notaries, only in the first half of the year, coinciding with the start of the war, citizens from Ukraine purchased 1,237 homes in Spain, 73% more than in the first half of 2021 and almost 60% above the registered average of the last 15 years (774 units). In addition, it is the record in the historical series compiled by notaries since 2007.

As the notarial statistics show, the operations formalized by Ukrainians began to gain momentum from 2016, reaching a ceiling of 939 transactions in the first half of 2018. Compared to the average registered during the years of the real estate boom (175 semi-annual operations between 2007 and 2009), the current sales volume is up to seven times higher. And the demand for housing is also growing across the board, both by location and by type of property.