Spain suffered a seismic shock in October last year when Catalans voted for independence. Much like Brexit, it was a bitter and divisive referendum, with added violence on the streets. The repercussions were swift. Madrid, which had declared the referendum illegal, dismissed the Catalan government and imposed central rule.
“The real-estate consequences were immediate,” said Emmanuel Virgoulay, managing partner of estate agency Barnes Barcelona. With big banks moving their headquarters from the city and some pro-independence politicians fleeing in self-imposed exile, non-Catalan Spanish owners rushed to sell their properties. Many sales completed with discounts of up to 30 per cent late last...