Foreign Buyers in the Canary Islands: Yes or No?

Foreign buyers account for a quarter of property purchases on the Canary Islands, according to recent data from the Property Registers, gathered by mortgage specialists iAhorro.

Laura Martínez of iAhorro, explained that foreign purchases do not explain the widespread problem of access to housing in Spain.

“The solution lies in increasing the supply of affordable housing, streamlining urban planning processes, and creating a stable framework that allows for more and better construction. Blaming only foreign buyers oversimplifies a problem that is structural and complex,” Martínez stated.

She also pointed out that property sales were beneficial to the Spanish economy, and have contributed to the increase in employment and Gross Domestic product that the nation has experienced recently. Spain’s economy is predicted to grow further in 2026, with 2.1% growth expected, resulting partially from rising immigration. Martínez did, however, recognise that foreign purchases can act as an “additional” element of pressure in very specific areas.

The Canarian Government would appear to believe that it is one of those areas, as its proposal to prohibit the sale of property to non-resident buyers was officially presented to the European Commission last month.

The Spanish government made the request on behalf of the Canaries, along with another request to limit the sale of homes that would not be used as residences.

Both types of sale are currently protected by EU directives, but the Canaries believes that it can be regarded as an exception due to its status as one of the EU’s ultraperipheral zones, where certain exemptions may be permitted.

Canarian President Fernando Clavijo flew to Brussels to lend support to the proposal, claiming that the Canaries are a “limited and fragmented territory” where the problems of the property market disproportionately affect local residents.

Whether the proposal will succeed is another matter. The European Commission is not known for its keenness to grant exemptions from directives, and there are plenty of other areas in Europe that are experiencing similar property crises to the Canaries without being “ultra-peripheral.”