How to Transfer Property in Spain: Resale, Off-Plan, Auction, Bank REO and Donation Compared (2026)

A foreign buyer can acquire Spanish property through at least five distinct legal routes, each with a different tax treatment, timeline and risk profile. The dominant path is a standard resale, which accounted for 139,669 of the 181,625 registered house sales in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Colegio de Registradores. But off-plan purchases, judicial auctions, bank REO stock and inter vivos donations each serve a different buyer profile, and choosing the wrong route can mean paying more tax, carrying more risk, or waiting longer than necessary. This guide compares all five side by side.

What are the main ways to acquire or transfer property in Spain?

The five practical routes to acquiring a Spanish property are: a standard resale from a private seller, an off-plan purchase from a developer, a judicial auction through the BOE electronic portal, a bank REO acquisition from Sareb or a retail bank’s portfolio, and an inter vivos donation between relatives. Each route produces a notarial escritura publica and a Land Registry inscription, but the tax regime, the due diligence burden and the financing options differ substantially. A resale pays ITP at 7% in Andalusia; an off-plan purchase pays 10% IVA plus around 1.2% AJD; an auction pays ITP or IVA depending on the asset type; a bank REO pays ITP on a resale unit; and a donation triggers the succession and gift tax, which is effectively reduced to 1% for direct relatives in Andalusia.

How does a standard resale purchase work?

A resale is the most common and best-documented route. The buyer and seller sign a private reservation or arras contract, pay a deposit, then complete before a notary with an escritura publica de compraventa. The buyer pays ITP at a flat 7% in Andalusia under the Ley 5/2021 de Tributos Cedidos, confirmed on the Junta de Andalucia’s own tax page. On top of the transfer tax, the total acquisition cost runs to roughly 12-15% of the purchase price when notary fees, Land Registry, lawyer fees and mortgage costs are added, as detailed in our complete foreign-buyer process guide.

The due diligence window is the buyer’s own to negotiate: a lawyer checks the Land Registry for title, encumbrances and community debt under the LPH liability rule, verifies the energy performance certificate, and confirms the seller’s tax status. Financing is widely available through non-resident mortgages, typically up to 60-70% of the valuation. The risk profile is the lowest of the five routes because the buyer sees the finished property, can survey it, and can walk away before completion if the lawyer finds a problem.

How does an off-plan purchase differ from a resale?

An off-plan purchase buys a property that does not yet exist. The buyer signs a private purchase contract with the developer, pays in stage instalments as construction progresses, and completes with an escritura publica de obra nueva once the building receives its licencia de primera ocupacion. The tax treatment shifts from ITP to IVA at 10% on the purchase price, plus AJD at around 1.2% on the obra nueva deed. The total acquisition cost is similar to a resale at roughly 12-15%, but the tax split is different.

The critical protection is the Ley 57/1968 bank guarantee, which requires the developer to secure all stage payments with a bank or insurance surety. If the developer fails to deliver, the buyer can reclaim every euro paid. Our off-plan buying mechanics guide covers the stage payment schedule and the developer solvency checks in detail. The risk profile is higher than a resale because the buyer commits capital before the property exists, but the Ley 57/1968 guarantee and the arras reservation contract structure the downside. The timeline is typically 18 to 36 months from contract to keys.

What happens at a judicial property auction in Spain?

Judicial auctions are court-ordered sales of seized property, conducted electronically through the BOE’s Portal de Subastas under the procedural framework of Ley 1/2000 de Enjuiciamiento Civil. The court sets a starting price based on a tasacion (valuation), typically well below market value, and registered bidders compete in a single-round or multi-round electronic process. The buyer pays ITP at 7% in Andalusia for a resale property, or IVA at 10% plus AJD if the asset is a new build from a developer, with the taxable base set by the cadastral reference value since the 2021 reform of the ITP and AJD law.

Comparison dimension	Standard resale	Off-plan from developer	Judicial auction	Bank REO (Sareb)	Donation (inter vivos)
Legal instrument	Escritura de compraventa	Escritura de obra nueva	Adjudicacion en subasta	Escritura de compraventa	Escritura de donacion
Purchase tax (Andalusia)	ITP 7%	IVA 10% + AJD ~1.2%	ITP 7% or IVA 10% + AJD	ITP 7%	Gift tax (99% bonificacion, Groups I-II)
Filing deadline	30 working days (ITP)	At notary (IVA)	20 working days post-adjudicacion	30 working days (ITP)	Modelo 651 within 30 working days
Due diligence	Full, buyer-controlled	Developer solvency + bank guarantee	Limited, court tasacion only	Title check + physical inspection	Donor title + gift tax basis
Financing	Standard mortgages available	Developer stage plans + mortgages	Cash-heavy, limited mortgage	Tighter financing, renovation loans	Not applicable (gift, not purchase)
Timeline to keys	6 to 12 weeks	18 to 36 months	Weeks post-audit, eviction risk	4 to 8 weeks	Immediate on notary signing
Risk profile	Lowest	Medium (protected by Ley 57/1968)	High (occupants, hidden defects)	Medium-high (renovation, thin finance)	Low (tax basis carry-over)
Typical price vs market	Market price	Market price or premium	20 to 40% below tasacion	10 to 30% below market	No purchase price (gift)

The attraction is price: auction properties can clear 20 to 40% below the court’s tasacion. The risk is that due diligence is compressed. The buyer cannot survey the interior before bidding in most cases, the property may carry sitting occupants who require a separate eviction procedure, and the court’s tasacion may be stale. Financing an auction purchase is difficult because Spanish banks rarely pre-approve a mortgage on a property the buyer cannot inspect, so most auction buyers are cash investors or bid with a pre-arranged bridge facility. Our bank REO purchase guide covers the related Sareb and distressed-asset route in detail.

How does buying bank REO stock from Sareb work?

Bank REO (real estate owned) properties are assets repossessed by lenders and held on their balance sheets or transferred to Sareb, the Spanish bad bank created in 2012 to absorb toxic real estate from the banking crisis. Sareb sold 13,081 properties in 2024, with direct real estate sales totalling EUR 589 million, according to its annual results. These properties are listed on Sareb’s retail portal and through partner agencies, typically at a discount to market value because the banks want them off the balance sheet.

The acquisition process is closer to a standard resale than to an auction: the buyer makes an offer, negotiates, and completes with an escritura de compraventa before a notary. The tax treatment is ITP at 7% in Andalusia for a resale unit. The trade-offs are condition and financing. REO stock is often in poor repair, having sat vacant through a repossession process, and banks are more conservative on loan-to-value for these properties than for a standard resale. A buyer planning to renovate should also read our reduced IVA renovation guide to understand which works qualify for the 10% reduced VAT rate instead of the standard 21%.

What tax does a property donation trigger in Andalusia?

A donation (donacion inter vivos) transfers property as a gift rather than a sale. The recipient, not the donor, pays the succession and gift tax. In Andalusia, the regional government applies a 99% bonificacion on the tax quota for acquisitions by spouses and direct relatives in Groups I and II, as confirmed on the Junta de Andalucia’s official announcement. This reduces the effective liability to 1% of the standard amount, making a property donation between a parent and a child, or between spouses, nearly tax-free at the point of transfer.

The recipient must file Modelo 651 with the AEAT within 30 working days of the notarial deed, per the Agencia Tributaria’s own filing deadline page. The legal basis is Ley 29/1987 del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones. The critical caveat for future planning is cost basis: the donee inherits the donor’s original purchase price for capital gains purposes, so when the donee eventually sells, the taxable gain is measured from the donor’s acquisition cost, not the gift’s market value. A non-resident seller faces a flat 19% CGT with a 3% buyer retention, as detailed in our non-resident CGT guide. For inheritance rather than donation, the Modelo 650 must be filed within six months of the date of death, with an extension available within the first five months.

How does inheritance compare to a donation as a transfer route?

Inheritance (mortis causa) is the sixth route, though it is not a purchase. The heir files Modelo 650 within six months of the death, and the same 99% Andalusian bonificacion applies to Groups I and II. The tax basis is the market value of the inherited share. Unlike a donation, inheritance does not require a notarial deed at the moment of death, but the heir must formalise the adjudicacion de herencia before a notary to register the title change. Our inheritance planning guide covers wills, forced heirship under the Codigo Civil and the tax mechanics in depth. The choice between donating during life and inheriting after death often turns on whether the donor wants to retain control of the asset, and on the donee’s future sale timeline.

Which transfer method should a foreign buyer choose?

The answer depends on the buyer’s goal. A standard resale suits most buyers because it offers full due diligence, standard financing and the widest choice of stock. Off-plan suits a buyer who wants a new asset and can wait, with the Ley 57/1968 guarantee as the safety net. Judicial auctions suit cash investors who can absorb the due diligence risk for a price discount. Bank REO from Sareb suits a buyer seeking a discount who is prepared to renovate. A donation suits a family transferring wealth between generations, with the 99% Andalusian bonificacion making the gift tax near-zero, but the cost-basis carry-over means the donee should plan for the eventual CGT on a future sale. Buying through a Spanish SL company, covered in our company purchase guide, is a sixth structural option that can change the tax and liability profile for HNW buyers.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.