What does the decline mean for holidaymakers and residents?
The 20.3% decline compares the first half of 2026 with the first half of 2025, according to the Consejo General del Notariado. Foreigners bought 3,694 homes, down from 4,635 in the same period last year.
For holidaymakers and European residents, nothing changes in the short term when it comes to flight schedules or booking conditions. But the effect could become visible in the medium term: fewer international buyers mean less demand for direct connections from Germany, Great Britain and other countries.
Airlines align their offering with demand. If the number of owners who regularly travel between their main residence and their holiday home falls, individual routes could be reduced. No specific cancellations had been named by the sources by Saturday.
How many purchases involve non-resident foreigners?
Non-resident foreigners bought a total of 2,046 homes in the Canary Islands in the first half of 2026, according to the Consejo General del Notariado. Their share of the overall Canarian housing market was 9%.
Across Spain, non-residents accounted for 36.8% of all foreign purchases and recorded a decline of 18.0%.
The notarial council attributes the sharper decline among non-residents partly to the end of the golden visa scheme. These residence permits for property buyers had previously been an important incentive.
What restrictions is the Canary Islands government planning?
No new restriction is currently in force. However, the Canary Islands government under President Fernando Clavijo Batlle sent draft proposals to the Spanish state on 15 October 2026.
They provide for a maximum of two homes per person not resident in the Canary Islands, in different municipalities. People with ten years of uninterrupted residence on the islands, or 15 years with interruptions, would receive preferential or exclusive access to certain purchases.
Residence would have to be proven by a registration certificate issued by the relevant Ayuntamiento (municipal authority). Non-compliant transactions could be void and excluded from the land registry.
Would Spanish buyers also be affected?
The proposed criteria are expressly intended to apply regardless of nationality. That means Spanish buyers would also be affected if they cannot prove the required length of residence.
Conversely, long-term foreign residents would not be excluded solely because of their nationality. The rules target residence, not passports.
In addition, following a decision by their full council and in agreement with the regional government, municipalities could designate zones where purchases or rentals by certain non-EU foreigners are restricted. Funds from abroad could then require prior official authorisation.
What remains open?
The proposals are drafts, not laws in force. The available information does not yet include an approved legal text, an entry into force, an application office, fees or specific deadlines.
It is also open whether, and in what form, the Spanish state or the Parliament of the Canary Islands approves the measures.
The notarial figures also differ from the provisional land registry analysis, as the two sets of statistics record the market in different ways.
What happens next?
The Canary Islands government sent the drafts to the Spanish state on 15 October 2026. The next step is review by the relevant bodies.
For buyers, that means: anyone wishing to purchase a property in the Canary Islands should monitor legal developments. Until a law is passed, the existing rules remain unchanged.
No date for a decision had been given by the sources by Saturday.