The Minister for the Presidency, Public Function and Equality in the Balearics, Mercedes Garrido, has refused to interpret central government’s response to the possibility of regulating the sale and purchase of housing to non-residents in the Balearics “as a no”.
Garrido today claimed that “it is not a no” from Madrid.
She claimed Madrid are simply playing for time while negotiations continue over how best to introduce restrictions.
A commission made up of the University of the Balearic Islands, the Treasury, the legal profession and Housing will study how any such restrictions will sit with European and Spanish law.
She said that the Balearics cannot be “compared with other parts of Spain or the continent”, and therefore their specific nature should be clearly explained to the European Union once it has been properly analysed and proposals have been made.
Nearly 60,000 foreigners have acquired a home on the islands over the past 10 years. In 2021, the volume of real estate purchases by foreigners accounted for almost 40% of the market, according to the local property registry. Only the Canary Islands come close to this figure, with 25.87% of property sales attributed to foreigners.
The demand for housing is extraordinarily high, especially among German, British and French citizens. This explains why, in the Balearic Islands, the average price per square foot is around 300 euros, making it the second-most expensive real estate market in Spain after Madrid.