Near Barcelona, Moroccans are the top foreign buyers in a city where prices are soaring

Figures from the Portal Estadístico del Notariado, covering the period from June 2025 to May 2026, show that foreigners accounted for 15% of home purchases in Vilafranca del Penedès. Among them, Moroccans clearly lead, ahead of Bangladeshis, Italians, Pakistanis and Ukrainians.

In total, 489 property transactions were completed in this city in the province of Barcelona during the twelve months studied. The market remains largely dominated by Spanish buyers, but the Moroccan lead among foreigners confirms a trend already observed at the national level.

On Bladi.net : The spectacular breakthrough of Moroccans in the Spanish real estate market

According to data analyzed by La Vanguardia, this Moroccan presence appears to be more closely linked to the purchase of a primary residence and the local labor market than to residential tourism. The profile therefore differs from that observed in Vilanova i la Geltrú, where European buyers are more numerous.

A rise in prices of nearly 31%

Vilafranca’s appeal is based first and foremost on its price gap with Barcelona. A home there costs an average of 184 257 euros, compared with 393 350 euros in the Catalan capital. The average price reaches 1 861 euros per square meter, or just 39% of the 4 754 euros asked in Barcelona.

Buyers also have access to larger homes. The average floor area of properties sold reaches 99 square meters in Vilafranca, compared with 83 square meters in Barcelona. The required financial effort corresponds to approximately 4.05 years of net income, compared with 7.23 years in the Catalan capital.

But this advantage is rapidly shrinking. In 2025, the median price rose by 30.99% in Vilafranca, almost three times more than in Barcelona, where the increase was limited to 11.08%. In Vilanova i la Geltrú, the increase reached only 8.76%.

Across Spain, Moroccans are already among the foreign nationalities buying the most homes, while generally favoring properties with the lowest prices.

On Bladi.net : Spanish Real Estate Boom: Moroccan Buyers Lead Despite Record Prices

The statistics do not make it possible to attribute the surge in prices to Moroccan buyers. They nevertheless show that Moroccans now occupy a central position among foreigners in one of the markets being used as a fallback option in response to prices that have become difficult to afford in Barcelona.