Local Bank Branch or Online Lender? Getting a Mortgage in Girona

For buyers from the United Kingdom looking at Girona, the question of which bank to approach often comes down to a gut feeling: a branch on the high street near the property seems more reassuring than an institution you'll only ever deal with by phone or screen. That instinct is understandable, but it doesn't always match how Spanish mortgage lending for non-residents actually works.

In most cases, the assessment of your income, your existing debts and the final loan conditions is handled by specialised departments rather than the branch itself, regardless of whether that branch sits in Girona or far from it. What changes between a local branch and a national or online-first lender is less about the outcome and more about how you experience the process from the United Kingdom.

Girona province covers the Costa Brava coastline as well as inland countryside toward the Pyrenees, offering both beach towns and rural stone villages. Its proximity to France draws French, Belgian and Dutch buyers, alongside others wanting a quieter alternative to busier Spanish coasts.

Girona-Costa Brava airport serves the coast directly, with Barcelona airport also within reach for wider connections. Coastal areas see strong summer activity, while inland towns remain calmer, and property types range from apartments and townhouses near the sea to farmhouses further inland.

What follows are measured, dated figures for Girona (province) — who lives there, what homes are advertised for, how to get there and the climate — each one sourced. They help you build a realistic picture of Girona (province) as you work out the budget for a Spanish mortgage.

The province of Girona as a whole, not merely its capital city, had 830,429 registered residents on 1 January 2025, according to the INE annual census. This figure covers every municipality within the province, from its largest towns to its smallest villages. Foreign nationals make up 181,899 residents of the province of Girona, roughly 22 per 100 inhabitants. The figure is meaningful without being overwhelming, and it shifts noticeably depending on which town in the province you look at.

Only 3,372 British nationals appear in INE's register for the whole province of Girona on 1 January 2025, a small number of compatriots. The padrón only counts people living there most of the year, so second-home owners in the province are not included. The following table shows the leading foreign nationalities registered in Girona (province) on 1 January 2025, according to the municipal-level data INE makes available.

For nationalities the census groups together rather than listing them individually, such as Germans, Italians, Dutch, Belgians or Scandinavians, we turn to the detailed INE register for Girona province. Unlike the table above, this count dates from 1 January 2022, the most recent detailed edition.

Of the 5,315 homes for sale across the province of Girona, the median asking price is €2,840/m² and the median ticket €290,000 in our data. That puts the province near the middle of the table, close to the €3,135/m² median across the 130 towns we track. Half of the properties currently listed are priced between €1,930 and €3,820 per square metre, with cheaper and more expensive homes on either side of that middle band.

On the median asking price in Girona (province) of €290,000, transfer tax at the regional rate of 10 % comes to about €29,000, plus roughly €3,500 for notary, registry and gestoría fees. The total of about €32,500 must come from the buyer's own savings, not the mortgage. All prices shown are asking prices from adverts active on 2026-11-01, not completed sales. The price eventually paid is always a matter of negotiation, shaped by condition, precise location and orientation.

Below is a comparison of the towns we follow in Girona, covering inhabitants, foreign residents per 100 inhabitants and median asking prices per square metre across the province.

INE's experimental statistic, based on listings from the main holiday-rental platforms, counted 20,821 holiday-let homes in Girona (province) in 05/2026 (116,320 bed places), about 25 per 1,000 residents. That is a moderate presence, and tourist letting still requires a regional licence.

Before booking, confirm that Aeropuerto de Girona-Costa Brava (GRO), the one commercial airport serving Girona (province), has a connection from your home airport at the time of year you intend to fly, as this changes seasonally. The figures that follow reflect conditions in or around Girona, the provincial capital; elsewhere in the province, particularly inland, at altitude or on other islands, the climate can vary considerably. January brings a mean of just 7.1 °C and lows around 1.1 °C, against an August mean of 23.4 °C and highs near 29.8 °C, making this one of the colder corners of Spain in winter. Insulation and heating costs deserve close attention before buying. With around 728 mm of rain annually over about 66 days, this area is wetter than much of coastal or central Spain, so it is worth looking for signs of damp when viewing a property. Source: the 1981-2010 climate normals published by AEMET, the state weather agency, for its Girona Aeropuerto station, some 9 km from here; local conditions can differ, especially inland or at altitude.

15,239 home sales were registered in the province of Girona in the twelve months to 07/2026, according to INE. A market of this size usually means more comparable sales and a wider choice of homes for buyers. These figures describe the province of Girona as a whole and can change considerably from one town to another, and from one property to the next. Tell us what you are looking for and we will go through the numbers together.

The transfer tax on a resale home is set by each Spanish region. In Girona the general rate is 10 %, and on top of it come notary, land registry and gestoría (roughly one more percent). On a new build you pay 10 % VAT plus stamp duty instead of the transfer tax. This money is not lent by the bank.

For many buyers from the United Kingdom, the first instinct when looking at property in Girona is to approach the nearest bank branch for a mortgage. The idea feels reassuring: a manager who knows Girona and the kind of properties sold there. In practice, Spanish mortgage decisions for non-residents are rarely made solely by the local branch. Most institutions route income assessment, debt checks and final approval through specialised departments that handle non-resident files, wherever the branch itself is located.

This doesn't mean the branch is irrelevant. Staff there often liaise with the notary, coordinate the bank valuation and answer questions in person once you've signed. But the comparison that really affects your mortgage - which lenders accept your profile, how they treat income earned in pounds sterling, what documentation they require - happens largely behind the scenes, not at the counter.

A branch close to the property can be useful for practical matters: arranging the valuation visit, introducing you to a gestoría, or simply giving you somewhere to walk into if a document goes missing near completion. Some buyers from the United Kingdom also find it reassuring to meet someone face to face before signing, especially if this is their first Spanish mortgage.

The trade-off is that not every branch is equally experienced with non-resident buyers, and the range of mortgage products on offer at one branch may be narrower than what the same bank offers through its national non-resident desk. It can also mean more travel to Girona during the process than a remote-first approach would require.

National and online-first lenders typically centralise their non-resident mortgage teams, so your file is compared against the same criteria regardless of where you live or which branch you first contacted. For buyers in the United Kingdom, this often means fewer trips to Girona during the application stage, with documents uploaded digitally and queries resolved by phone or email.

The trade-off runs in the other direction: if something unusual comes up close to the notary date, you may be coordinating by phone rather than walking into an office. Neither approach guarantees a faster or larger loan; the exact amount a bank will lend, and the deposit it asks for, depends on the bank, your country and your financial profile.

Whichever type of lender you approach from the United Kingdom, the underlying list of documents a Spanish bank will ask for is broadly similar, usually requiring a sworn translation and sometimes an apostille. Having these ready in advance speeds up the comparison between banks considerably.

Rather than choosing based on whether a branch sits near the property in Girona, it's worth comparing how several banks treat a non-resident profile from the United Kingdom: the documents each one asks for, the deposit it expects and the term it offers, which usually runs until the borrower is around 70 to 75 years old. This is precisely the comparison Colibrí Finances carries out across more than twenty Spanish banks, preparing the file and translating what each lender needs, with the study free and without obligation and a fee only if you go ahead, agreed in writing beforehand.

Beyond the mortgage itself, remember the costs that sit on top of the price - transfer tax or VAT and stamp duty, notary, land registry, gestoría and valuation fees - and that owning property as a non-resident means filing an annual Modelo 210. Spain and the United Kingdom have a double taxation agreement, British citizens can stay up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa, and since you'll be paying in pounds sterling, exchange-rate movements are worth watching whenever you transfer funds to Spain.

Spain is a relatively short flight away from most UK airports, making regular visits to a Spanish property straightforward for owners based in Britain. Many British buyers are drawn to Spain for its climate, coastal lifestyle and established expatriate communities. One practical point to bear in mind is that Spanish inheritance law differs from UK rules, so it is worth taking specific advice on how it may affect the property and one's estate. Currency movements between sterling and the euro can also affect the overall cost of purchase and ongoing expenses.

Spain and the United Kingdom have a double taxation agreement in place, and a local tax adviser should confirm how rental income or gains from Spanish property must be declared and reported to HMRC.

As the United Kingdom is no longer an EU member state, British citizens may stay in Spain for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa, and must apply for a visa or residence permit for longer stays.

Since the United Kingdom uses the pound sterling (GBP) rather than the euro, buyers should factor in exchange-rate movements and currency conversion costs when paying for a property or transferring funds to Spain.