Figures from Spain's College of Registrars indicate that 35.1% of homes sold in the Balearics in the third quarter of this year were bought by non-Spaniards.
The national average for foreign purchases was 14.4%. The 35.1% in the Balearics was the highest percentage in the country, followed by the Canaries (30.6%), Valencia (26.5%) and Murcia (20.2%). At the other end of the table, just 1.6% of sales in Galicia were to foreign buyers.
The dean of the College of Registrars of the Balearic Islands, José Luis Jiménez-Herrera, says that the good climate, connectivity and legal certainty are some of the main attractions for buying properties in the Balearics as second residences or as investments.
Foreign buying has increased by more than four per cent over the past year. However, there are questions about the impact of inflation and recession. Jiménez-Herrera believes that over the winter there will be a drop in sales but that these will pick up again next summer.
He feels that as prices of properties being bought by foreigners are generally high, this is having a knock-on effect and leading to the prices of more modest homes to increase.