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 non-European Union residents

Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, said: “If any British buyer ever has to pay 100 per cent tax on a property purchase in Spain, I will eat my sombrero. The Spanish prime minister’s comments are squarely for domestic consumption.