In Madrid, affluent American buyers paid the highest prices for Spanish real estate among foreign purchasers last year, particularly in central and northern regions, intensifying the country's housing crisis. Unlike Europeans who traditionally sought Spain's sunny locales for climate reasons, American investors have started flocking to the country more recently, driven by factors like a strong dollar and concerns over policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The number of property transactions involving Americans has increased significantly in the past five years, during Trump's tenure, with their portion rising to 2% of the total 139,102 deals among non-resident foreigners, as per data from Spain's General Council of Notaries. Despite this growth, Britons still lead as the largest foreign property buyers, though their market share has declined from 12% to 8.5%. American buyers paid around 30% more per square meter compared to their British counterparts.

Foreign purchasers, constituting 20% of all residential property buyers in Spain, paid an average of 2,362 euros per square meter, while Spanish nationals paid 1,713 euros per square meter in the latter half of the year. The surge in property prices in Spain last year, the second highest in the EU after Portugal, has added pressure to the housing crisis, prompting the government to consider imposing a hefty tax on non-EU property buyers, although doubts remain on its effectiveness in curbing the housing price escalation caused by a lack of housing supply.

Although Spain has recently ended its "golden visa" program offering residency to foreigners making substantial property investments, many American buyers, particularly those of Latin American descent, still find Spain appealing due to factors like language, culture, climate, and attractive prices. Experts suggest that the trend of American investment in Spanish real estate is likely to continue due to perceived growth potential and market attractiveness, especially in prime areas like Madrid and the Costa del Sol in the south of Spain.