In recent years, it has typically been the case that foreign purchases have accounted for around a third of all sales of homes in the Balearics. Between October 2024 and September 2025, however, the share increased to 40%.
In responding to this figure supplied by the notaries, Daniel Arenas, president of the ABINI association of national and international estate agencies, says: "We anticipate a trend similar to that of the last two years: a relatively stable level of sales, with slight increases or decreases depending on the area and type of property."
But what explains the percentage increase? A reason lies with a scarcity of homes at affordable prices for the islands' residents. Prices are another.
There are those who blame foreigners for the high price of housing in the Balearics, arguing that they have put pressure on the market, given the high demand and low supply. Arenas disagrees. Foreign buyers are not the reason for the increase in property prices.
"Since 2000, the population has grown by 400,000, of whom 300,000 are foreigners. During this same period, 160,000 homes have been built. And these take into account the years of the real estate boom. But if we focus on the period since 2008 (and the financial crisis), the population has increased by 161,604 and 36,731 homes have been built.
"Added to this is the lack of available land and the fact that construction prices have risen by 60% in 15 years, while the licensing process has become interminable. All of this has contributed to the price increases."
The German market continues to be by far the largest. Notaries' figures indicate that German buyers represented 39% of the foreign market. The British were second on 10.8%.
Arenas says the German market will continue to be the most important. Economic growth forecasts of between 1.2 and 1.6 per cent in 2026 "should give German buyers a greater share of the market compared to recent years".