Brexit has no impact on the bulk of the foreign buyers in Marbella, who come overwhelmingly from countries within the European Market and to a lesser extent from those that have never been a part of the EU. From the 29th March 2019 British homebuyers will shift from the former group to those outside the EU, and as there is as yet no deal there is much uncertainty about how this divorce from Europe will impact both British expats in Spain and the property market within the country.

British buyers now make up roughly 15% of the foreign property buying public in Spain, and while Brexit undoubtedly has had an impact, the British share has been dropping for some time – partly due to the rapid growth of sales to Scandinavian, Belgian and French buyers. Other important markets for the Costa del Sol include The Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Italy and the Middle East, with buyers and investors from the Americas and China also important in parts of the market.

Likely impact
Though there will be a transition phase of 21 months leading up to the full and final divorce on 1st January 2021, there seems to be a clear split in status between those who moved to Spain before 29th March 2019 and those who come afterwards. The former will largely enjoy the same rights, though those who haven’t yet will probably have to apply for full residency, while a whole new set of rules will apply to ex-EU Brits coming here.

For the property market there will be an impact, but just as sales to non-EU countries are strong and growing, so British people wanting to buy in Spain will continue to be welcome and as few as possible obstacles will be placed before them. Basically, Spain wants to continue to welcome British tourists and business, so it will do everything in its power to ensure that this flow does not falter. One might even envisage a special Golden Visa for British citizens…

Overall, the property sector in Marbella and the Costa del Sol is well-protected by the fact that the foreign buying market is very well diversified, ranging from across Europe to the Middle East, North Africa and increasingly the Americas and Asia, so we think any major impact following on from Brexit will be largely temporary and moderate.