UK has confirmed that a referendum on its continuity as a member of the European Union on 23 June 2016. It appears that the vote will be hard struggle.
British buyers are already an active actor in the real estate market, so we wonder “what happens if a “Brexit ” led to a decrease in the activity of British buyers?
We have reliable data on the activity of British buyers:
The real question is how disruptive it would be a vote of “abandonment” and we believe that, on average, the effects of a “Brexit” would be very limited.
Any short-term change
UK should invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon to leave the European Union and it will probably take about two years to disconnect from Europe. In other words, next year at this time, the UK would still be a member of the European Union and British buyers would have the same rights they have today.
In the long term, we hope that bilateral agreements could appear (in the worst case scenario) that investment will be a little more complicated in Spain by British buyers. Being a member of the European Union or not is not really a barrier to invest. In China, which does not belong to the European Union still has not prevented the Chinese have an active role in the real estate market of Madrid; British buyers would not be an exception.
Regional variations
International buyers are a diverse group and some regions are more affected than others, so we’ve compiled a list of “English with other nationalities” for each region of Spain. The effects of a Brexit would be very localized.
International buyers representing 13.2% of the housing market in Catalonia.
Sian Burton
