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

A foreign buyer can acquire Spanish property through at least seven distinct legal routes, each with a different tax treatment, timeline and risk profile. The dominant path is a standard resale, which accounted for 556,091 of the 705,357 registered house sales in 2025, according to the Colegio de Registradores’ full-year statistics. But off-plan purchases, judicial auctions, bank REO stock, inter vivos donations, property swaps and mortgage assumptions 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 seven side by side.

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

The seven 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 a lender’s portfolio, an inter vivos donation between relatives, a property swap (permuta) between two owners, and a mortgage assumption (subrogacion deudor) where the buyer takes over the seller’s loan. 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; a donation triggers the gift tax with a 99% bonificacion for direct relatives in Andalusia; a permuta has each party pay ITP on the received property; and a mortgage assumption pays ITP on the full property value with the subrogacion itself exempt from AJD.

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 seven 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.

Transfer route	Legal instrument	Tax (Andalusia)	Filing deadline	Due diligence	Financing	Timeline to keys	Risk profile	Price vs market
Standard resale	Escritura de compraventa	ITP 7%	30 working days	Full, buyer-controlled	Standard mortgages	6 to 12 weeks	Lowest	Market price
Off-plan	Escritura de obra nueva	IVA 10% + AJD ~1.2%	At notary (IVA)	Developer solvency + guarantee	Stage plans + mortgages	18 to 36 months	Medium (Ley 57/1968)	Market or premium
Judicial auction	Adjudicacion en subasta	ITP 7% or IVA 10% + AJD	20 working days	Limited, court tasacion	Cash-heavy, limited mortgage	Weeks, eviction risk	High	20 to 40% below tasacion
Bank REO	Escritura de compraventa	ITP 7%	30 working days	Title check + inspection	Tighter, renovation loans	4 to 8 weeks	Medium-high	10 to 30% below market
Donation (inter vivos)	Escritura de donacion	Gift tax (99% bonificacion)	Modelo 651, 30 working days	Donor title + gift tax basis	Not applicable	Immediate	Low (basis carry-over)	No purchase price
Swap (permuta)	Escritura de permuta	ITP 7% each party	30 working days each	Both properties, nota simple	Cash equalisation if unequal	4 to 8 weeks	Medium (match-finding)	Market (no sale)
Mortgage assumption	Subrogacion + purchase deed	ITP 7% on full value	30 working days	Standard + outstanding debt	Assumed mortgage	Bank-dependent	Medium (bank approval)	Market (rate advantage)

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 distressed-asset route in detail.

How does buying bank REO stock 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 8,900 consumer housing units in 2024, with total real estate sales income of EUR 1,753 million, according to its approved 2024 annual accounts. However, Sareb’s General Shareholders’ Meeting halted consumer housing sales on 20 March 2025, pivoting the company toward social housing lettings and development partnerships. This means the Sareb retail route is effectively closed to new individual buyers as of mid-2025.

Individual REO properties may still appear on retail banks’ own balance sheets, though in diminishing volumes as the post-2008 stock clears. The acquisition process for a bank-held REO 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 a property swap (permuta) work?

A permuta under Civil Code Articles 1538 to 1541 lets two owners exchange properties directly, without a conventional cash sale. Each party is simultaneously buyer and seller, and each pays ITP at 7% in Andalusia on the market value of the property they receive, not on any cash equalisation payment. Both parties also owe capital gains tax on the gain against their original acquisition cost, and plusvalia municipal on the land value increase. A single escritura de permuta before a notary records both transfers, which saves on notary and registry fees compared to two separate sale deeds.

The structural barrier is match-making. Finding two owners with comparable property values, in locations each desires, with no chain dependency, is logistically difficult. Most swaps occur within families or between developers trading stock. Spain does not offer a like-kind exchange deferral equivalent to the United States Section 1031, so the capital gain is taxed in the year of the permuta. Our property swap guide covers the contract, the full tax cascade and a worked comparison.

How does a mortgage assumption work?

A buyer can sometimes take over the seller’s existing mortgage instead of arranging a new one, through a process called subrogacion deudor under Civil Code Article 1205. The bank must consent after running its own affordability assessment on the new debtor, and the assumed mortgage terms, including the interest rate, remaining term and outstanding balance, carry over unchanged. This can be attractive when the seller’s mortgage carries a lower rate than current market offers.

The critical tax point is that ITP is paid on the full property value, not the price minus the assumed debt, because Article 10.1 of the consolidated ITP law (RDL 1/1993) explicitly excludes debts from the deductible base even when secured by mortgage. The subrogacion itself does not trigger AJD, confirmed by DGT resolution V0745-25 of 28 April 2025. If the bank refuses the assumption, the buyer must arrange a new mortgage, pay cash, or walk away under the arras contract terms. Our mortgage assumption guide covers the bank consent process, the cost comparison and the novation option in detail.

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

Beyond these seven acquisition routes, inheritance (mortis causa) is a transfer mechanism that 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 retail banks suits a buyer seeking a discount who is prepared to renovate, though the Sareb retail route is now closed. 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. A permuta suits two owners with matching needs and comparable values. A mortgage assumption suits a buyer who wants to inherit a favourable interest rate, if the bank approves. Buying through a Spanish SL company, covered in our company purchase guide, is a 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.