Figures from the College of Notaries indicate that house prices in the Balearics fell in 2023 by 0.4%, the first decrease for ten years.
Although it was only a slight fall, the contrast with recent years was striking. In 2019, house prices went up by 9%; in 2020 by 6.6%; 2021 by 14.2%; and 2022 by 7.1%.
As a result of the 2023 decrease, Madrid has replaced the Balearics as the most expensive region in Spain for housing. In reality, the -0.4% is neither here nor there. The average price in the Balearics last year was 3,186 euros per square metre; the Spanish national average was 1,640 euros.
The price in the Balearics was five times more than in the least expensive region - Extremadura with 616 euros - and was more than double that of the Canaries (1,356) and Valencia (1,349).
One reason for the slight decrease was that the cumulative increase over previous years had made property unaffordable. Others were the rise in interest rates and tighter lending controls by banks. There were 15,347 sales in 2023. These compared with 19,151 in 2022, which was highest figure since the 21,653 of 2007 before the financial crisis.
The average mortgage in 2023 was 292,721 euros. In 2013 it was 162,748 euros.
* Figures that emanate from the General Council of Notaries are official data. There is much reporting about house prices and the property market that doesn't come from official sources. It is provided, for example, by property websites and is less reliable.