MADRID – Spain’s decision to scrap its “golden visa” scheme in a bid to boost housing prices will not stop droves of Brits buying property under the Iberian sun, property experts warn.

Spain’s Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez said on Tuesday that the scheme had led to increased property speculation in cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, driving up house prices and making it harder for locals to buy.

“These investments make the real estate market more difficult and raise prices. Trying to find housing for ordinary Spaniards is impossible. We are working to prevent this,” she told a news conference.

Since the visa was introduced in 2013 to revive the flagging property sector, 14,500 visas have been issued, the vast majority of which were for property purchase rather than investment in business (which is another route).

The scheme issues special permits to non-EU citizens who invest at least €500,000 (£429,000) in Spanish real estate without a mortgage, allowing them to live and work in the country for three years.

The United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States, Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia are the main countries whose citizens have benefited from the scheme.

However, property professionals say ending the scheme will not reduce the huge demand for Spanish property in the UK.

“This visa is just a sweetener for British people after Brexit, but it has never driven British home buying demand. That will not change because of this.” Mark Starklin, a British real estate expert who runs the Spanish Real Estate Insights website Mark Stucklin) said.

He said I He believes the golden visa program failed because it didn’t raise much money and didn’t change the real estate market.

The scheme has raised around €5bn (£4.29bn) for the Spanish government over a decade, relatively little for a money-making scheme.

About a third of visas are obtained in Barcelona, ​​19% in Madrid, 18% in Malaga and 10% in Alicante.

In terms of nationality, Britons have been the largest group buying property in Spain. Last year they bought 8,100 houses or apartments, accounting for 9.5% of total sales, according to the Spanish Property Registry.

Valencia-based British real estate agent Graham Hunt said the move to end the scheme was purely political.

“The decision to end the visa program is purely political,” he told I. “These visas have little impact on the real estate market. It was Airbnb that changed the real estate market because people rented their houses to tourists and locals couldn’t afford the rent.”

He said he has a client from London who is now trying to complete a golden visa application before the shutdown.

Britons who want to move to Spain in the future may have to choose between an entrepreneur, digital nomad or non-profit visa.

Neighboring Portugal recently revised its “golden visa” program and excluded real estate investment in response to the housing crisis.

The European Commission has long called for an end to all such schemes, citing security risks.