Every year we get the same question from Mexico City, Bogotá or Miami: "can I buy a house in Madrid as a foreigner?". The answer is an emphatic yes: Spanish law makes no distinction of nationality when it comes to acquiring property. Any individual or company can buy a home in Spain, resident or not.
The numbers: a record market for international buyers
This is not a fashion — it is a structural trend. In 2025 foreign buyers closed close to 97,300 home purchases in Spain, an all-time high representing 13.8% of all transactions in the country, according to the Land Registrars’ property statistics. And the pace is holding: the first quarter of 2026 saw nearly 25,000 foreign purchases, the fourth-best figure on record, as reported by idealista/news. In Madrid’s luxury segment the international weight is even greater: CBRE estimates that around 70% of prime residential buyers in Madrid are international, mainly from Latin America, the United States, Northern Europe and the Middle East.
The only prerequisite: the NIE
The foreigner identification number (NIE) is the administrative key to any transaction in Spain: without it you cannot sign a deed or pay the purchase taxes. It is requested at the Spanish embassy or consulate in your country of residence, or directly in Spain through a legal representative, and typically takes 2 to 4 weeks. Our advice: start the process as soon as your search gets serious, so it never becomes the bottleneck of a deal.
Do I need to be in Madrid to buy?
Not necessarily. In the luxury segment it is common to start with a virtual tour and then formalise a remote reservation. For the signing of the deed, if you cannot attend, it is enough to grant power of attorney to a trusted representative — a fully regulated mechanism used by most of our international buyers.
Why Madrid, and why now
Madrid has established itself among the world’s best cities for quality of life, safety and cultural offering. For American buyers it holds two quiet advantages: direct flights to the continent’s main capitals and a time zone that lets you work in real time with New York or Mexico City in the afternoon and with all of Europe in the morning. And there is something the statistics miss: for those arriving from Latin America, Madrid feels like home from day one.
International analysts back this with figures. Savills places Madrid at the top of Europe in its 2026 prime residential forecast, with growth of 4% to 5.9% — three times the projected global pace (1.3%) — and Knight Frank forecasts 4.5% growth after closing 2025 at 5%, among the best performances of any European capital. Buying well in Madrid is not just a lifestyle decision: the data also supports the investment case.
How we do it at Lumier
Our homes are delivered restored top to bottom, furnished and ready to move in — no building works to manage from 8,000 kilometres away, no technical surprises, and a single point of contact throughout. Browse the homes available right now or discover our bespoke property search service if you know exactly what you want and it does not exist yet.
To dig deeper, the Lumier Magazine includes our full investor guide, with every stage of the purchase in detail.
This information is for guidance only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Always consult a professional about your specific case.
