With 15 days to go until the end of the year, Spain's leading international consultancies are quick to point to this year as one of the most active in terms of investment in the real estate sector.
BNP Paribas RE, Catella, CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, Knight Frank and Savills, through the Association of Real Estate Consultants (ACI), estimate that in 2025, both domestic and international investors will allocate €17 billion to real estate purchases, representing a 30% increase over 2024.
This is the third-best figure on record, surpassed only by the €17.5 billion achieved in 2022 and the €20 billion invested in 2019, according to the aforementioned firms. "The balance for the year is undoubtedly very positive. Amid an environment marked by international instability, real estate has not only acted as an anchor of stability, but has also achieved very significant levels of growth. The consensus among consultancies places investment at around £17 billion at the end of the year. This makes us once again one of the most dynamic sectors of the Spanish economy, generating employment and wealth throughout the country," explains Ricardo Martí-Fluxá, president of ACI.
The figure also contrasts with the volume achieved in other European markets, such as France and Germany. "One of the most relevant issues in the current situation is the opportunity that Spain has internationally, with Germany and France, which are well below their real estate investment figures of more than €120 billion and €50 billion respectively. If some of the money that was going to these markets were to come to Spain, the volume of investment would skyrocket even more, and this situation is happening now because France and Germany will recover and return to their usual figures," emphasises Alejandro Campoy, managing director of Savills Spain.
Of the €17 billion invested in real estate in 2025, 50% has been taken up by 'living' and hotels, followed by retail, offices, logistics and data centres
In addition, the national real estate market in 2025 has had another distinguishing feature: the quality of the investors who are betting on it. "More than 40% of the money that has come to Spain is core profile. This percentage far exceeds the share that would correspond to us by market, and reveals that of the little core money that has been raised worldwide to invest in real estate, Spain has been chosen," explains Enrique Losantos, CEO of JLL Spain, who highlights that "Spain is the second most attractive destination for real estate investment in Europe and, globally, is in the Top 10".
Adolfo Ramírez-Escudero, Chairman of CBRE in Iberia, has made similar comments. "Investors come because we offer value, as we are growing economically, which allows us to be overrepresented in terms of core capital in our market share." On its part, Jesús Silva, Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield, stated: "We always said that a year with 7 billion was a good year. Now we have gained prominence, with annual growth of 30%, when Europe is not growing and some countries are even reducing their figures".
By sector, the hotel and living market (including the boom in the student residence segment) accounted for 50% of the total volume. "Hotels is the segment that has attracted the most investment in the last four years. It is also the only one where Spanish buyers have accounted for 50% of the total, thanks to national hotel chains. It is a very powerful sector and one of the most fashionable niches at all the trade fairs in Europe," emphasises Mikel Echevarren, CEO of Colliers in Spain.
In the case of residential property, the experts present at ACI estimate that the housing deficit, which Knight Frank puts at 600,000 units, makes this type of product a very attractive asset for international investors. "With 500,000 people arriving to live in Spain, joined by 90 million tourists a year and around a million students choosing to study in the country, there is a need not only for housing, but for all types of accommodation in general," says Carlos López, Head of Catella.
Meanwhile, investment in offices has reached €2 billion and €2.5 billion in the case of retail. "The big news is that we are once again seeing large office and retail transactions in Europe, something that has not happened in the last five years, and we will also see this in Spain," predicts Adolfo Ramírez-Escudero.
Meanwhile, by 2025, investment in logistics will total another €1.6 billion, a similar figure for data centres. "The logistics and industrial sector is performing well, especially when compared to the rest of Europe, where take-up after 2022 has already fallen by up to 50%. Thus, this year we will close in Spain with an investment in logistics of more than €1.6 billion, a figure very similar to last year's, with the biggest obstacle being the lack of core money carrying out operations in Spain; but we believe it will come in 2026," says Ignacio Martínez Avial, CEO of BNP Paribas RE in Spain.
