Panic in Poland as residents abandon country for Spain | World | News
A growing number of Eastern Europeans, especially Poles, are buying homes in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, new real estate data shows. Figures from the Spanish College of Registrars show that Poles are increasingly choosing regions such as Andalusia and Valencia, as well as the Canary Islands.
While the majority of European foreign buyers in Spain gravitate towards luxury villas or stylish holiday apartments with sea views, most Polish, Ukrainian and Lithuanian buyers prefer modest properties between 646 and 861 square meters rather than spacious luxury homes. Polish demand has grown faster than any other nation since the start of the war. Poland has once again recorded the sharpest increase in foreign property purchases in the second quarter of 2025, after breaking into the top 10 countries of the Balearic Islands for the first time last year. This comes as the country is constantly named as one of Vladimir Putin’s next targets for invasion after Ukraine.
Daniel Arenas, president of ABINI, an association of national and international real estate agents, told local media: “It’s a nation we don’t usually work with much, but we’ve noticed a significant change. When you talk to house hunters, they admit they’re scared. They tell you about Russian drones flying freely across their borders. It’s not a flood, but it’s noticeable.”
Meanwhile, Hans Lenz, managing director of Engel & Völkers in southwestern Majorca and former ABINI president, said the role played by the Russia-Ukraine war was “undeniable”. Majorca Daily Bulletin.
“These are people seeking peace and security,” he added.
Now Express has spoken to several experts in the Spanish real estate industry who have also witnessed this shift in property purchases by Polish residents.
Deepak Shukla, British-Indian entrepreneur, three-time TEDx speaker and founder and CEO of Pearl Lemon Properties, told the Express: “Since the war in Ukraine began, I have seen a clear shift among Polish buyers. They are prioritizing security and lifestyle diversification. Spain and the Balearic Islands represent both physical and financial security.”
“Poland’s proximity to conflict has led many families and investors to move their assets westwards to stable EU markets with strong property laws and rental yields.”
Meanwhile, UK Expat Mortgage Mortgage Manager Luther Yeates said his business was also showing increasing interest from Polish estate agents in Spain.
“We work with an international Spanish brokerage firm that stated that a few years ago 5% of mortgage cases completed were by Polish buyers, which is more than the 4.1% in the US. Although this percentage may seem small, it represents a significant increase in market activity.”
“There are obvious geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe […] This has increased the demand for stable overseas investments and the Spanish property market has been fairly stable since 2007; “Some expect prices, which have been quite stagnant for the last decade, to rise, resulting in strong returns.”
According to data from Registradores de España in May, Polish investors bought almost 1,000 flats and houses in Spain between January and March 2025; This is almost 25% more than in the same period in 2024. This means that in four years the number of properties purchased by Poles on the Iberian Peninsula reached almost 12,500.
Poland has been at the center of many concerns about World War III in recent months. In September, the air force had to scramble planes several times after Russian drones violated airspace. On the night of September 9, Russia launched 19 attacks on drone-type objects that France’s Permanent Mission to the UN said “posed a real threat to the civilian population, infrastructure and aviation security.”
Then last month, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Vladimir Solovyov demanded that Russia “wipe out” Poland if the United States arms Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. After saying that it would be “great” for the USA to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Solovyov said that Russia should eliminate every place where missiles would be fired at his country. He said areas of Poland where Ukrainian forces were training and where weapons were produced and stored should “burn and explode.”
