Properties in the Balearics continue to be some of the most desirable and sought after in Spain, despite house prices having risen by 45 percent over the past five years, according to leading Spanish property portals Idealista and Fotocasa’s property index.
Since 2016, property prices have shot up by 45 percent, although last year the increase slowed slightly to just 3.4 percent.
Spokesperson for Fotocasa, Maria Matos, said that the demand for housing in the Balearics, especially not new builds, is continuing to rise and that, in real terms, the rise in property prices over the past year has been well below the national average of 16 percent.
What is more, house prices in the Balearics, despite the sharp five-year rise, are still 35 percent below the maximum reached during the 2007 property bubble - just before the recession.
According to Idealista, the most sought after province in Spain is Madrid, in particular the outskirts of the city, which is in keeping with the new market trend.
As a result of the pandemic, people want more open space and an increasing number, especially those with young families, are moving out of city centre apartments to freestanding properties. A perfect example is in Mallorca where the municipality of Llucmajor has reported an increase in demand for properties. Ibiza is also proving more popular and the old part of Palma is constantly in demand - especially from the foreign market.
The British market has been hit to a certain extent by new Brexit rules which limit nonresident property owners to only a 90-day stay at any one time. That is not only in Spain, but the European Union as a whole as the UK is now a third country.
The real estate sector has said that this has deterred some would-be UK buyers but interest from the UK market remains high, especially in the Balearics.
There has also been growth in the investment market, with UK hedge funds and hotel chains snapping up property in the Balearics.