Poland Rises to Third at Alicante Airport While Spain's Housing Market Cools: A 2026 Guide for Polish Buyers on the Costa Blanca

Two markets, running in opposite directions

Spain's housing market is cooling. In Q2 2026 total home sales fell 5.7% year on year, to 167,934 transactions — the second consecutive quarterly decline — according to the Colegio de Registradores' press release of 5 August 2026. At exactly the same moment, purchases by foreign buyers hit 15.98% of the whole market, slightly more than 26,800 transactions, up roughly 11% year on year: a historic high for the series.

Two markets, moving in opposite directions. Poland is one of the clearest illustrations of what is happening on the foreign side.

Poland's position in the market

Based on registry data reported by Alicante Plaza on 16 August 2026, Polish buyers completed 1,143 home purchases across Spain in Q2 2026, up 7.8% year on year. To put that in context: in the same quarter British buyers grew 0.7% and German buyers 3.8%. Poland is not yet among the top five nationalities by volume — the Q2 2026 data shows British buyers at 6.99%, Dutch at 6.94% and German at 6.11%, and Poland sits at roughly 4.3% of all foreign purchases (a derived figure; the Registradores do not publish a full ranked table by all nationalities). That puts Poland around eighth place.

The story is not the rank. It is the rate of change, and the trajectory over several consecutive years. Across the whole of 2025 Polish buyers acquired around 4,136 homes in Spain, averaging a 4.26% share of all foreign purchases. Combined with the 2024 figures, that is more than 8,000 Polish home purchases in two years. The direction is consistent, and Poland is growing many times faster than the two markets that have historically defined the Costa Blanca.

Alicante: a foreign market with a Spanish segment

The most striking provincial figure in the Q2 2026 data is not about nationality at all. Foreign buyers completed 5,710 purchases in Alicante province in the quarter — 46.43% of all home sales in the province, up 3.13 percentage points year on year. Across the whole of 2025 the figure was 47.82 per 100 homes. Nearly one in every two homes sold in this province now goes to a foreign buyer. Alicante is not a market with a foreign segment; it is a foreign market with a Spanish segment. The full picture of what this means for the province is covered in our guide to Alicante leading Spain's foreign property map.

A province-level breakdown by nationality is not published in the quarterly registradores release, so any specific figure for Polish purchases in Alicante province should be treated with caution. What is visible is the practitioner picture.

The air connection runs ahead of buying

Tourism figures consistently lead property data by a year or two, and on that measure Poland's position on the Costa Blanca is clearly established. In 2024 Spain received 2,439,446 Polish tourists — 2.56% of all international visitors, up 30% on 2023 — who spent €3,230 million, averaging €1,287 per tourist, €189 per day. Turespaña identifies Poland as the fastest-growing European source market for Spain (these are 2024 figures; 2025 and 2026 data are not yet fully published).

The regional picture is sharper. Comunitat Valenciana received 452,000 Polish tourists in 2024 (up 59%), and in 2025 Poland was the region's fastest-growing market, with more than 545,000 tourists and a 4.4% share — its seventh-largest international source market.

At Alicante-Elche airport, across the first ten months of 2025, the Poland route carried 676,502 passengers, up 20.6% — enough to make Poland the airport's fifth international market. By July 2026 it had risen to third: approximately 125,000 passengers that month, behind only the UK and Germany. Those are separate data points — ten months of 2025 versus a single month in July 2026 — but together they describe a market climbing the table consistently. Direct routes now connect Alicante with Warsaw, Gdańsk, Katowice, Wrocław and Poznań, flown by Ryanair and Wizz Air.

There is a seasonal angle worth noting. Turespaña data shows Polish arrivals grow fastest in the low season — January to April — at roughly 40% above the annual average growth rate. For anyone thinking about a rental property, that counter-seasonal pattern matters: Polish demand is strongest in the months when other northern European markets are quieter.

Where the buying is concentrated — and what practitioners say

Valentina Sileike of Lucas Fox Alicante describes Polish clients across a wide range of operations: new-build purchases between €300,000 and €500,000, up to individual transactions above €2 million. She describes the Costa Blanca as a place that "permits access to the Spanish lifestyle at an investment level that continues to be reasonable" — a positioning that speaks to how this market compares with other Mediterranean alternatives.

Silvia Galve of SGM Abogados, who has worked with this client group for around five years, is direct about both the opportunity and the condition of access. She calls it "un mercado súper potente" — an extremely powerful market — and describes Polish clients as "clientes de mucho dinero, pero no confían en cualquiera" (buyers with substantial means who do not extend trust easily). Her operational point is blunt: "Si no hablas el idioma, olvídate de trabajar con ellos" — if you do not speak their language, forget about working with them.

The towns most often cited in practitioner accounts are Benidorm, l'Albir, Altea, Calpe, Moraira, Torrevieja and Benissa. Jávea — the most expensive municipality in the area, with prices that have crossed the €4,000/m² mark in 2026 — does not typically appear in those lists. That is most likely a reflection of where the volume new-build product sits, not a comment on who is active in the upper segment.

What EU citizenship actually changes

For Polish buyers, the question that dominates coverage aimed at British or American buyers — the Golden Visa — is simply irrelevant. As EU citizens, Polish nationals need no visa to buy, reside or remain in Spain indefinitely. The process requires an NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero), a foreigner tax number used to transact — this is obtainable at a Spanish consulate in Poland before you travel, or at a National Police station in Spain. It is required before signing any purchase contract.

The tax position thereafter depends on residency. If you do not become a Spanish tax resident, you are still required to file annual non-resident tax returns as a property owner under Modelo 210. The obligations were expanded in 2026 under order HAC/623/2026 — our guide to what changed and what it means for foreign owners is worth reading before you own, not after. Property transfer tax in the Comunitat Valenciana was cut in June 2026; check that article for the current rates rather than relying on older figures.

If the property is intended for tourist letting, the licence position now bites hard in parts of the province. In Jávea, the municipality has capped total VUT licences at 4,584 with neighbourhood quotas, and in apartment buildings a formal community of owners vote is required before any new tourist letting activity can begin. Choose the town with the letting strategy in mind.

Working with the right people

Elia Living is a buyer's agency in Jávea, working exclusively for the buyer — not the seller — across the Costa Blanca North. Advisory services operate in English, Dutch, German and Polish. Given Silvia Galve's point about language being the decisive factor for this client base, it is worth stating plainly: Polish-speaking support through the property search, legal coordination and purchase process is available as part of the standard service.

---

Frequently asked questions

Do Polish citizens need a visa or Golden Visa to buy in Spain? No. As EU citizens, Polish nationals have the right to buy, live and remain in Spain without any visa. The Golden Visa programme applies to non-EU nationals making qualifying investments — it is not relevant to Polish buyers.

What is an NIE and how does a Polish buyer obtain one? An NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) is the Spanish tax number required to complete any property transaction. It can be applied for at a Spanish consulate in Poland before you travel, or at a National Police station in Spain with an appointment. It must be in place before signing any purchase contract.

Can a Polish buyer get a Spanish mortgage as a non-resident? Yes. Spanish banks lend to non-resident foreign buyers, typically up to 60–70% of the purchase price or valuation (whichever is lower). Terms and eligibility criteria vary by lender; it is worth obtaining an agreement in principle before committing to a purchase timeline.

What taxes does a Polish owner pay annually if not tax-resident in Spain? Non-resident owners must file Modelo 210 annually, even if the property is not rented out. The obligations were expanded in mid-2026 under order HAC/623/2026. See our guide to the changes for the current requirements.

Which Costa Blanca towns have direct flights from Poland? Alicante-Elche airport currently has direct routes from Warsaw, Gdańsk, Katowice, Wrocław and Poznań, operated by Ryanair and Wizz Air. Poland was the airport's third-biggest international passenger market in July 2026, behind only the UK and Germany.

Is it a disadvantage that Polish tourists tend to visit outside peak summer season? For buyers thinking about rental income, it may be the opposite. Turespaña data shows Polish arrivals grow fastest in the January-to-April period, running roughly 40% above the annual average growth rate. That counter-seasonal pattern reduces the winter occupancy gap that most owners in this market have to plan around.