Foreigners now own almost 50% of the homes in some municipalities on the island. The Serra de Tramuntana is experiencing this phenomenon with greater intensity, but the loss of Mallorcan properties to citizens of other countries threatens to spread along the entire coastline, as shown on the map illustrating this news item.
Land registry data for 2025 puts the number of residential properties in foreign hands in the region at 92,030, or 16.02% of the total, but a closer look at the situation in the municipalities raises alarm bells in some areas of Mallorca due to the intensity of the phenomenon.
This is the first time that these comprehensive statistics have been published and that the extent of this reality has been revealed in detail. Until now, statistics were published on the percentage of homes purchased by foreigners, which was close to 40% in the third quarter of the year according to notaries, but there was no clear picture of how many properties were in the hands of citizens of other countries. That picture is now accompanied by a figure: those 92,030 homes.
Andratx, with 45.19% of its residential stock – 4,315 properties – in foreign hands, tops the list, closely followed by Deya, where 44.12% of homes (341 properties) belong to foreign owners, a particularly significant figure in a small municipality with a very limited market. In third place is Calvia, with 14,694 homes owned by foreigners, representing 42.59% of its residential stock. Close behind is Fornalutx (41.14%), followed by Capdepera (38.14%) and Santanyí (35.21%), municipalities where more than a third of residential properties are no longer in national hands.
The ranking continues with Sant Llorenç des Cardassar (34.87%), Pollensa (28.57%) and Artà (27.28%). In Ibiza, Santa Eulària stands out, with 26.82% of residential properties in foreign hands. Above 23% are also Sant Joan de Labritja (25.36%), Sant Josep de sa Talaia (24.50%), Son Servera (23.98%) and Sant Lluís, in Menorca (23.69%), confirming that the pressure extends across much of the coastline and the most attractive municipalities for residential investment.
In Soller, there are 1,276 residential properties in foreign hands, representing 19.4% of the total housing stock. This figure is lower than that of the municipalities at the top of the ranking, but sufficient to seriously strain access to housing in a small market. The contrast is marked by Palma. The capital has 16,395 foreign-owned homes, but their percentage weight is reduced to 9.18%.
According to geographer Antoni Marcús, this concentration of real estate assets in the hands of residents of other countries is one of the most significant causes – although not the only one – of the sustained rise in housing prices. ‘In a limited and strained island market, the price ends up reflecting more what those who buy as a refuge or investment can pay than what those who live and work here can pay,’ he explains. The result, he adds, is that the crisis of access for residents becomes structural.
The Land Registry figures measure foreign ownership of property, but do not differentiate between residents and non-residents. However, Marcús points out that complementary sources, such as property registrars and notaries, indicate that a significant proportion of sales correspond to European citizens with high purchasing power and, in many cases, non-residents. ‘This explains why the market ends up functioning according to logic that is alien to the economic capacity of the local population,’ he stated.