I want to rent a house for 6,000 euros a month (company pays): expats heat up the luxury housing sector

Not so long ago, people were unaware of their existence . Today, it's common to meet an expatriate worker. These days, in this country, there are countless of them. The law states that this legal status can be maintained for a maximum of five years. It has tax advantages and is usually applied to professionals who have a solid career in their home company. Following them is a family. Open doors mean a higher salary, a different culture, and sometimes, they even arrive with an expert who organizes their entire stay. This is the prologue from the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE) . They look for international schools for their children and high-income areas. And the houses are in keeping with them: a pool, a gym, coworking. So are the locations, especially: Madrid and Barcelona. But this is just the beginning.

First comes the landscape, then the obsession: which is always to buy or rent a house in Spain. “Perhaps it's because this land has become the new Florida,” according to Javier Sierra, president of the real estate agency Re/Max Spain. “Perhaps because life is so good here .” Fine words. The initial trend is to look for a rental home, although if time goes by and they like it, they may end up buying a house, with a view to retirement. “Expats who want a rental home are usually temporarily displaced professionals, digital nomads, or foreign students. Renting offers them flexibility, mobility, and a lower initial investment,” summarizes Luis Corral, CEO of Foro Consultores Inmobiliarios. They are chasing details. “Mainly apartments ranging from 70 to 150 square meters distributed in two to four bedrooms, depending on needs,” adds Juan-Galo Macià, president of Engel & Völkers for Iberia and South America.

Like a birch tree on a riverbank, it grows a new ring with each passing year, and during that time, housing costs increasingly more. Expatriates, Javier Sierra estimates, are looking for rentals in Madrid or Barcelona for between €3,000 and €6,000. This cost is supposedly borne by the company. And the houses they stay in range from €1.2 million to €2 million. What's most important? If we think about the tree, it needs water. When it comes to housing, the key lies in location. Later comes lifestyle, economic power, cultural preferences, and, above all, family circumstances. In the case of individuals or couples, they opt for luxury apartments in excellent, well-located neighborhoods, while families want larger properties or single-family homes.

The 'golden visa' effect

If this trend holds true, just like the ring and the riverbank, the influx of expatriates should decrease significantly, predicts Roberto Scholtes, Head of Strategy at Singular Bank, partly due to the end of the Golden Visa (residence permit in Spain for non-EU citizens who made a significant real estate investment) and, above all, due to the rise in house prices. But not all strategists see the same tree. Pablo Victoria, an expert at Afi, recalls other rings in the language of economics. "In 2024, the number of homes transacted exceeded 715,000 units. Since 2007, purchases by foreign residents have increased from 4% during that year to 10% in 2024. That year, the all-time high (72,578) was reached in absolute terms." The birch trees are growing. According to the AFI (Spanish Tax Agency), the average purchase value for new homes among foreign residents is €350,000, while second-hand homes are €190,000. If we compare this with the national total, the Excel spreadsheet would show €288,000 for new homes and roughly the same for used homes.

The price per square meter purchased by non-resident foreigners totaled 3,100 euros, compared to 1,700 euros for Spaniards. Another economic trend is stirring. The ratio between the price per square meter purchased by non-resident foreigners and that purchased by Spaniards has increased from 1.2 times in 2007 to 1.8 times last year. Where are expatriates concentrated? "They tend to live in the best neighborhoods or areas of major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, or Malaga," says Luis Corral. "But there are other expatriates: Germans, English, French, and those joined by countries near the war in Ukraine, who are looking for a second home and tend to cluster in regions with good weather, international services, and a consolidated foreign community: the Balearic Islands, the Costa Blanca, the Costa del Sol, the Costa Brava, or the Canary Islands."

They also want international educational centers, sports facilities, healthcare, good transport links, and ready-to-move-in housing. In the case of the outskirts of cities, Juan-Galo Macià describes the expat profile as looking for larger houses (around 166 square meters), with a garden and three bedrooms.

The breeze blows again on the riverbank, a headwind. It's difficult to know its exact direction, although one can sense it. "The serious problems in the rental market are a major obstacle to the entry of well-paid workers, especially researchers and technology specialists, and they also make this segment of teleworkers, which is experiencing exponential growth, less attractive," warns Roberto Scholtes. Marcus Albert, married to a Spanish woman, has arrived from Singapore to this riverbank of online birch trees. He works in electric chargers, legally advises several companies on energy issues, and is an expert in cryptocurrencies, but he wants to return. "My nine-year-old daughter doesn't adapt," he admits. "Her friends are far away." He lives near Madrid's Retiro Park, in a 120-square-meter house—"small," he assures us— and pays around 3,000 euros a month. They will return to Singapore. When they arrive, the white birch trees on the riverbank will have one more circle.