Living

The Canary Islands government has attended the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council with a critical stance on the 2024 spending rules. Councillor Matilde Asián has denounced an ‘incoherent’ gap between income and allowed expenditure, forcing the region to generate a surplus for debt repayment. The regional executive is calling for flexibility to invest in public services, highlighting the impact of state wage agreements and the need for reconstruction on La Palma.

The Bank of Spain has found that properties entering the rental market for the first time command rents 16.6% higher than existing ones, fuelling price growth. The Canary Islands, with 55 consecutive months of increases, now ranks fifth among Spain’s most expensive regions for renting.

The Canary Islands attracted a record €329 million in foreign investment in 2025, double the previous year’s figure. Hotel transactions and tourism-related activity drove the surge, with the archipelago accounting for 24% of all Spanish hotel investment. The first quarter of 2026 also saw strong figures, though distorted by the Baleària-Armas shipping deal.

New figures from the Notaries’ Statistical Information Centre reveal that property sales in the Canary Islands dropped 7.5% in April compared to the same month last year, with 2,095 transactions completed. Meanwhile, the average price per square metre climbed 9.3% to €2,418, reflecting ongoing upward pressure on housing costs across the archipelago.