GREAT ESCAPE

American Home Buyers Are Fleeing U.S. Because of Trump

Spanish-speaking Americans are now among the top buyers of high-end property in a European country.

Americans are fleeing the U.S. housing market and buying luxury properties in Spain, with Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies cited as a key reason. The number of homes bought in the European country rose by 3 percent in 2025. Real estate agents believe that this rise is due to Trump’s attacks on immigration and the president’s hardline deportation plans, with buyers often being Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens of Latin American origin. “Many Americans have recently chosen to relocate to cities such as Madrid or Valencia for political reasons, and because they see them as safer places where they can walk their children to school,” Fernando Rodriguez de Acuna, general director ‌of Madrid-based real estate ⁠analysis firm Acuna, told Reuters. In addition to buying more properties, U.S. citizens are spending more and buying bigger homes in Spain. Analysis found that American buyers paid an average of $380 per square foot for their houses last year, which is 29 percent more than the average paid by other foreigners and nearly double what Spanish residents paid. One Spanish real estate developer added that Americans are now its number one foreign client group, overtaking Britons.