Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would propose to ban purchasers from outside the European Union from buying properties, as the government seeks to curb rising housing prices, which have become an increasing source of friction.

Non-residents from outside the EU bought some 23,000 houses and flats in Spain in 2023. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Spain is planning a raft of measures to address its brewing housing crisis, including an up to 100% tax on properties bought by people who are neither citizens nor residents of the European Union.

The proposed changes would see non-EU citizens without legal residence in Spain having to cough up taxes worth 100% of the property's value. Official stats reveal that the number of Brits registered as living in Spain jumped from 276,089 in 2017 to 284,037 in 2023.

Late last year, the Bank of Spain estimated that the country would need some 550,000 new residences to be built to meet demand over the next two years.

Spain is planning to impose a tax of up to 100% on the value of properties bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK. Announcing the move, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the "unprecedented" measure was necessary to meet the country's housing emergency.