In the October 2025 registry snapshot, the cities with the highest foreign-buyer share in apartment transactions were concentrated in a narrow stretch of Alicante province. For cross-border investors and agents, the key takeaway is that international demand shows up in recorded sales data as a localised market structure, not just a tourism narrative.

Alicante’s coastal belt dominates the foreign-buyer map

In the October 2025 snapshot, the ranking is strikingly concentrated: every city in this cut sits in the same broad Alicante market orbit. That kind of clustering is typical when overseas demand locks onto established second-home and relocation corridors, where language services, agent networks, and resale liquidity are already in place.

The highest foreign-buyer share shown in this slice is 46.91%, and it appears across Torrevieja, Orihuela, Pilar de la Horadada, Guardamar del Segura, Rojales, San Miguel de Salinas, Algorfa, Benijófar, San Fulgencio, Dolores, Finestrat, Benidorm, Villajoyosa / La Vila Joiosa, Altea, and Polop.

That means the story here is less about one city pulling away from the rest and more about a whole coastal-and-near-coastal corridor attracting a similar buyer mix. The list spans some of Spain’s best-known international residential markets, from Torrevieja and Benidorm to smaller municipalities that sit just inland but remain tied to the same demand basin.

The registry angle matters. These are sold-transaction records, not portal browsing trends or anecdotal agency reports, so they capture completed market activity. At the same time, the buyer-residency definition follows MIVAU methodology, which is useful for comparability but may understate non-resident demand when purchases are routed through locally established corporate structures.

The same foreign-buyer share covers both mass-market and premium pricing

In the June 2026 asking-price snapshot, the cities in this foreign-buyer cluster show a wide spread in median apartment asking prices. That matters for investors because international demand is not confined to one price bracket; it reaches from relatively accessible coastal stock to clearly higher-ticket resort markets.

Among the listed cities, Dolores has a median asking price of €129,393 and San Fulgencio stands at €158,691, placing them at the lower end of this group. Torrevieja is at €222,167 and Orihuela at €229,492, while Guardamar del Segura reaches €270,995.

Further up the range, Polop is at €295,409, Pilar de la Horadada at €300,292, and Algorfa also at €300,292. Benijófar comes in at €319,823, Benidorm at €332,031, and Finestrat at €349,120. Villajoyosa / La Vila Joiosa reaches €354,003, Rojales €373,534, and Altea tops this particular list at €397,948.

That spread shows why foreign-buyer hotspots should not be read as a single luxury segment. In many markets, international demand layers across several buyer profiles at once: retirees, second-home purchasers, lifestyle relocators, and higher-budget buyers looking for prime coastal stock.

Large resort cities and very small towns appear side by side

In the October 2025 and June 2026 snapshots, the ranking mixes major urban resorts with municipalities of only a few thousand residents. For market watchers, that combination suggests foreign demand can scale beyond headline destinations into smaller surrounding towns once a regional brand becomes internationally legible.

Torrevieja has a population of 98,533, Benidorm 77,327, and Orihuela 84,560, making them the largest places in this group by resident base. Villajoyosa / La Vila Joiosa has 37,449 residents, while Pilar de la Horadada has 24,316 and Altea 24,592.

At the other end, Algorfa has 3,788 residents and Benijófar 3,679. Polop has 5,828 residents, San Miguel de Salinas 7,177, Dolores 8,326, San Fulgencio 9,769, and Finestrat 9,919.

This matters because foreign-buyer intensity is not only an urban phenomenon. Smaller municipalities often absorb international demand when they offer newer housing stock, lower density, or easier access to the same beaches and services that made the neighbouring resort city famous in the first place.

Transaction counts underline the scale of the foreign-demand corridor

In the October 2025 registry snapshot, the transaction-count field attached to this slice is 13,958, alongside an average price of €195,888. The interpretive point is that foreign-buyer concentration is showing up in a market corridor with meaningful recorded volume, not just in thinly traded trophy enclaves.

Because the same count and average price appear across all rows in this dataset cut, they should be read as a shared registry reference for the foreign-buyer segment represented here rather than as city-specific totals. What the city list adds is the local map of where that foreign-buyer share is most pronounced.

For practitioners, that distinction is important. A city can rank highly on foreign-buyer share without being the only place where international capital is active in absolute terms, and a corridor with repeated appearances across neighbouring municipalities usually signals a mature cross-border ecosystem rather than isolated demand spikes.

Snapshot table: the cities where foreign-buyer share is highest

In the October 2025 sold-transactions snapshot, all cities in this ranking show a foreign-buyer share of 46.91%. The June 2026 asking-price snapshot then helps separate cheaper entry points from more expensive coastal submarkets.

City Foreign-buyer share Median asking price Population
Torrevieja 46.91% €222,167 98,533
Orihuela 46.91% €229,492 84,560
Pilar de la Horadada 46.91% €300,292 24,316
Guardamar del Segura 46.91% €270,995 18,564
Rojales 46.91% €373,534 17,652
San Miguel de Salinas 46.91% €261,229 7,177
Algorfa 46.91% €300,292 3,788
Benijófar 46.91% €319,823 3,679
San Fulgencio 46.91% €158,691 9,769
Dolores 46.91% €129,393 8,326
Finestrat 46.91% €349,120 9,919
Benidorm 46.91% €332,031 77,327
Villajoyosa / La Vila Joiosa 46.91% €354,003 37,449
Altea 46.91% €397,948 24,592
Polop 46.91% €295,409 5,828

Taken together, the table shows a clear pattern: Spain’s highest foreign-buyer shares in apartment sales are not scattered evenly across the country. They are concentrated in a recognisable Mediterranean corridor where international demand has enough depth to register consistently across multiple adjoining municipalities.

Explore further

Cities in Spain: Madrid · Barcelona · Valencia · Zaragoza

Related analysis:

Browse: Highest rental yields · Most expensive · Most affordable on price · All rankings

Data as of: Asking prices: 2026-06-13; sold transactions with buyer residency (MIVAU): 2025-10-01
Sources:
  • MIVAU — Spanish Ministry of Transport & Housing, sold transactions with buyer residency
Planning a trip?
Explore things to do in Spain
Skip-the-line tickets, tours, eSIMs and local experiences, booked in minutes.
Browse on Klook →

Published: June 16, 2026