Lithuanians have long been tempted to buy property in Spain because of prices and climate. Now, there’s another reason – having a backup home due to the geopolitical situation.
Tenerife, the largest island of Spain’s Canary Islands, is one of the most popular destinations among Lithuanians. In the past, Lithuanians used to visit the island in the winter and spend a week or two there. During the pandemic, however, they realised they could stay there for months and work remotely.
“We go to Lidl in our village, and more people speak Lithuanian than Spanish. [...] We have a Lithuanian library, a community here. I now call Tenerife ‘Little Chicago’,” says Ieva Vainaitė, a real estate agent at Keller Williams Sunset in Tenerife.
Chicago was dubbed Little Lithuania after a large number of Lithuanians moved there fleeing the Second World War and Soviet occupation.
According to Vainaitė, the average price of a property in Tenerife is 2,500 euros per square metre. There are 7,000 officially registered Lithuanians in Tenerife, but in reality, there are many more, she says.
“You don’t need different clothes for four seasons, you don’t need winter tyres, there’s no heating,” the real estate broker names the benefits of the Canarian climate, which appeals to many Lithuanians.
On the Spanish mainland, the number of properties owned by Lithuanian citizens is also increasing. For example, the family of Justina from Panevėžys owns an apartment in Tarragona.
“The first reason was probably the very good price. The weather is also always good, and the sea is nearby,” she says.
The 60-square-metre apartment cost just under 30,000 euros – similar to a home in a small Lithuanian town – when the family bought it a few years ago.
According to the real estate broker, there are 15,000 Lithuanian citizens officially registered in Spain, but there are at least twice as many who have property there.
The LRT RADIO correspondent in Spain Kristina Nastopkaitė points out that the local press is already writing about the increasing number of Lithuanians buying real estate in the country. The average budget for buying property is 100,000 euros.
“The Lithuanian mecca is probably in Alicante,” Nastopkaitė says.
Spain is one of the main foreign markets for Lithuanians’ investments, according to the economist Aleksandras Izgorodinas.
“The statistics are quite telling. In total, 86 percent of Lithuanian investments in Spain are in real estate,” he says.
Lithuanian investments in Spain are at a record high, the economist adds.
“At the moment, it amounts to 413 million euros. This is the highest amount in history. What is interesting is that since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lithuanian investments in Spanish real estate have increased fivefold and since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, they have doubled,” Izgorodinas notes.
Some Lithuanians are also encouraged to buy homes in Spain because of the uncertain geopolitical situation around their home country.
“An increasing number of people are coming to look at the schools and hospitals, and there is a lot of talk about that anxious mood,” says Nastopkaitė.
But the Spaniards themselves are tired of the newcomers. The country’s government has decided to end the Golden Visa programme, which has been in place since 2013. It allowed wealthy people from outside the EU to obtain residency permits in Spain on investing more than 500,000 euros in real estate or certain types of business.
“These golden visas will be abolished. One of the reasons for this is the rapidly rising property prices in Spain, which are due to foreign investment,” the LRT RADIO correspondent explains.
In her words, Spaniards are also annoyed by the flow of tourists. When some of the apartments owned by the foreigners are rented out, the locals have to adapt to constantly changing neighbours.
Over the weekend, the residents of the Canary Islands staged protests against what they call an unsustainable model of mass tourism.
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