Something interesting is happening in Spain’s property market.
Foreign buyers are becoming more important, even while the overall Spanish housing market is slowing.
According to the latest figures from Spain’s College of Property Registrars, foreigners bought more than 26,800 homes in Spain during Q2 2026. That’s almost 16% of all residential purchases — a record high — while total Spanish property sales fell by 2.3% year-on-year.
So international demand isn’t disappearing.
But the nationality of the international buyer is changing.
And nowhere is that more interesting than on the Costa Blanca.
The Dutch are catching the British
The latest quarterly figures show British buyers still narrowly ahead of the Dutch nationally — 6.99% of foreign purchases compared with 6.94% for Dutch buyers.
That’s an extraordinarily small gap.
But look at Alicante province, and the picture is even more striking.
According to 2025 data from Spain’s Notary Council, Dutch buyers accounted for 12.53% of property purchases in Alicante, compared with 10.92% for British buyers.
In other words, the Dutch have already overtaken the British in Alicante.
For those of us watching the Costa Blanca South market, this is a significant shift.
The British have traditionally been the dominant international buyer here. Areas such as Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, San Miguel de Salinas, Rojales and Pilar de la Horadada have enormous British communities built up over decades.
But today’s market is much more international.
So why are British purchases slowing?
It’s not because British buyers have suddenly stopped wanting Spain.
They haven’t.
There are several reasons why some are now taking longer to make the move.
Brexit hasn’t helped
For the traditional British second-home owner, Spain used to feel almost like an extension of the UK.
That changed with Brexit.
The 90-days-in-180-days Schengen rule, additional bureaucracy and the greater complexity of owning and spending extended periods in a European property have made some buyers think twice.
It doesn’t stop Britons buying.
But it can make the decision less straightforward.
Property prices have changed
The other obvious factor is price.
Spain is no longer the bargain it was 10 or 15 years ago.
Property prices have risen sharply, including across Alicante province, while construction costs and the cost of living have also increased.
A British buyer who remembers what €200,000 used to buy on the Costa Blanca may now be looking at a very different property for the same money.
That creates hesitation.
And today’s buyer is often much more price-conscious.
But here’s the really important point…
The British aren’t necessarily being replaced. The market is expanding around them.
Dutch buyers are growing rapidly.
Belgian buyers are increasingly important.
Polish demand has become a major force in Alicante.
German, French and Scandinavian buyers remain significant.
This means the Costa Blanca is becoming less dependent on any one nationality.
And that’s actually a positive development.
What does this mean for Costa Blanca South?
For local sellers and estate agents, it means the old marketing formula is changing.
You can’t simply market a property as:
“Perfect for the British market.”
The international buyer is becoming much more diverse.
A good property in Costa Blanca South now needs to appeal to several different markets.
And those buyers are increasingly sophisticated.
They compare prices.
They research areas online.
They look closely at community fees, running costs and taxes.
They want to understand rental potential.
And, perhaps most importantly, they know what their money can buy in different parts of Spain.
That makes over-priced property increasingly difficult to sell.
The British buyer is still hugely important
It’s worth stressing this because headlines can sometimes exaggerate the change.
British buyers are not disappearing from the Costa Blanca.
Far from it.
There are millions of Britons with a long-standing connection to Spain, and the Costa Blanca remains one of their favourite destinations.
What has changed is their position in the market.
They are no longer the almost automatic number-one international buyer.
And that’s probably the biggest story here.
The Costa Blanca is becoming genuinely international
The future of Costa Blanca South isn’t about replacing British buyers with Dutch buyers.
It’s about having more nationalities competing for the same limited supply of good homes.
And that could be very good news for the region.
Because despite rising prices, Spain still offers something that remains incredibly attractive to northern Europeans:
sunshine, lifestyle, infrastructure, healthcare and comparatively affordable property.
The international buyer isn’t going away.
They’re simply changing.
And for the Costa Blanca, that may be the most important property story of 2026.
**The British aren’t leaving.
They’re just no longer alone.**
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