What does the price of 2,850 euros mean for buyers?
The average price in the Canary Islands for the third quarter of 2026 is 2,850 euros per square metre, says the Colegio de Registradores. The figure comes from its Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria (property registry statistics) for July to September, not from the national statistics office, the INE.
Sales fell by 6.6%, but the material available does not say whether that compares with the second quarter of 2026 or the third quarter of 2025. The absolute number of deals is missing too.
Fewer sales at the same price point to fewer buyers, not cheaper homes. That is an interpretation, not something the statistics say.
The third quarter brings no figure for individual islands, provinces or the southern holiday resorts. Buyers should ask estate agents for the price per square metre in the specific town, because the statistics say nothing about rents.
How does the region compare with Spain?
Across Spain, sales fell 2.3% in the third quarter to 164,148 completed deals, according to the Colegio de Registradores. Against the third quarter of 2025, the fall is 5.9%.
New-build homes made up 34,611 sales, down 0.9%. Second-hand homes reached 129,537 sales, a fall of 2.6%.
The price index rose 5.2% nationwide on the previous quarter and 15.8% on the year. The Spanish average is 2,512 euros per square metre, an all-time high.
The Canary Islands rank fifth on price. Ahead of them are Madrid at 4,565 euros, Baleares at 4,502 euros, País Vasco at 3,693 euros and Cataluña at 2,989 euros.
Why do other statistics give very different prices per square metre?
The housing ministry (Ministerio de Vivienda) puts the second quarter of 2026 at 2,279 euros per square metre, up 14.2% on a year earlier. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife the figure was 2,296 euros, and in Las Palmas 2,263 euros.
The two series use different bases: the ministry uses estimates from property valuations, while the Registradores count registered sale prices. Readers should not mix the two.
The ministry also reports rising prices, up 1.7% on the previous quarter after 3.8% in the first quarter. It is the 15th quarter in a row with an increase.
The notaries’ council (Consejo General del Notariado) counted 1,959 home sales in the Canary Islands in May 2026, 9.5% fewer than in May 2025. It was the eighth monthly fall in a row since October 2025.
Prices kept climbing: 2,516 euros per square metre in May, up 13.7%, against 2,049 euros across Spain, up 8.8%. That is the fourth largest rise, behind Baleares at 16.3%, Castilla-La Mancha at 15.4% and Andalucía at 14.4%.
How many foreigners are buying, and what is the government planning?
Foreign buyers made up 16.05% of purchases in Spain in the third quarter, a record of more than 26,300 deals, says the Colegio de Registradores. EU citizens account for 54.7% of these purchases.
The biggest groups are Britons at 7.5%, Moroccans at 6.4% and Dutch buyers at 5.8%. The analysis does not list Germans separately, and it gives no share for the Canary Islands alone.
The notaries’ council reports 10.8% fewer purchases by foreigners in the Canary Islands in the second half of 2025, against 4.4% fewer in Spain. Foreign residents made up 62.8% of these purchases, and non-residents 37.2%, with a fall of 15.1%.
In October 2026 the Canarian government sent Madrid a draft royal decree-law. Buyers would have to be on the islands’ municipal register (padrón) for ten years, or 15 years if there are breaks.
Each person could own no more than two properties in different municipalities, and inheritances would be exempt. Nobody has confirmed that the Spanish Council of Ministers has approved the draft, or that Brussels has reacted.
What is still open, and what happens next?
Still open are the absolute number of sales in the Canary Islands, the comparison period for the 6.6% and the split between islands and provinces. It is also unclear whether the 2,850 euros is unchanged from the second quarter.
The research found no new rules, deadlines or grants linked to this release. No verified information is available on taxes and notary fees when buying.
The INE reported a 2.6% rise in sales in the Canary Islands for June 2026 on a year earlier, 13th among the regions. That is a different series from the Registradores’ and is not directly comparable.
According to earlier information, the next monthly INE figures, covering August 2026, are expected at the end of October or in November. No date is confirmed, and it is not known when the Colegio de Registradores will publish its next quarterly report.