The annual report from real-estate consultants CBRE states that 14,834 properties in the Balearics (37.7% of the total) were sold to foreign buyers and that ten per cent of these transactions involved properties worth over 450,000 euros.
According to CBRE, "the residential market stood firm last year and performed extremely well and no downturn is predicted for this year. The total increase in business was 17.7 per cent higher than in 2016, so based on that we really cannot see a negative".
Of the 14,834 properties, some 12,000 (23% more than in 2016), were not new builds. "This has become a significant aspect of the market now, fewer people are looking for new builds and are searching for existing properties."
Another factor is price - new builds are far more expensive. They are in fact the third most expensive in Spain behind Madrid and Catalonia.
Fifty per cent of most foreign property transactions started with properties valued at 150,000 upwards. But the shortage of new builds is continuing to push the price up and this is turning potential buyers away.
Another factor, which was highlighted in a property feature in this weekend’s Sunday Times, is that an increasing number of Britons are preferring to invest in city properties as opposed to coastal ones. Palma was singled out as one of the best value and popular cities in Spain.
According to journalist Zoe Dare Hall, "instead of lazing on the costas, Brits are buying in Spanish cities for their lively street life, cultural buzz and climate". And it appears that Palma is ticking all the boxes.