Alberto Martínez Lacambra, director of the General Council of Notaries technology centre, says the increase in house prices "is starting to be worrying". Though speaking about Spain in general, the situation is especially pronounced in the Balearics, where the average price per square metre exceeded 4,000 euros for the first time in August this year. It was slightly more than double what it was in 2014 - 4,064 euros against 1,970 euros. This was a figure that related to new and used homes and to houses and apartments.
Martínez Lacambra argues that it is "urgent and necessary" to utilise public land. Limited supply and high demand have caused prices to soar, and access to housing is one of the main problems faced by citizens of the Balearics, especially young people. Between September 2024 and August 2025, just under ten per cent of all home buyers were aged below 31. The 41 to 50 age group accounted for most purchases - 27%.
And on the question of foreign buyers, almost 40% were German. Of these, 6.4% were residents of the Balearics. The UK continues to the second largest foreign market - a touch over 11%, of whom 3.9% were residents.
The notaries have offered their opinion and data at a time when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been in Brussels to propose that the EU adopts "legal measures" to curb the purchase of homes that are not intended for residential use. He has also proposed the creation of a specific fund for the construction of affordable housing and that "levers" be implemented to address the most stressed areas, especially large cities where purchase and rents have increased exponentially due to the pressure of tourism.
The Balearic Government has responded to Sanchez's proposals by saying "he is a specialist in selling empty promises and doing little or nothing of what he promises or announces, sometimes talking about thousands of homes about which nothing is known".
"The most concrete thing he has announced is the request for European funds for social housing. We agree on this point, but it's worth remembering that this is neither a new measure nor one proposed by Sánchez. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her re-election campaign last year, announced her commitment to launching a European Affordable Housing Plan for the first time."
The government meanwhile insists that its policies are focused on "facilitating affordable housing for residents with a minimum of five years of proven residency and with more than 5,000 affordable homes in the planning stages".
Sánchez spoke broadly in stating: "We are talking about a European problem, the problem of young people's inability to access housing. And not just young people, but also older people, and it's something that a Spaniard, an Italian, a Frenchman, or a German all share."
The measures he was proposing are of particular relevance to the Balearics, where the housing market has been influenced by a proliferation of holiday rentals, the purchase of second homes by foreigners, and population growth largely as a consequence of the islands' labour market.