There is more evidence of residents of the Balearics choosing to leave the islands and buy homes in other parts of Spain. Until now, proof of this movement has been mostly anecdotal, but figures from Spain's housing ministry confirm it.
From 2015 to 2019, Balearic residents purchased 4,347 properties elsewhere in Spain. Since 2020, this number has risen to 8,395; it will be somewhat higher as the ministry's figures only go as far as the third quarter of 2025. Purchases in the Balearics for the same periods showed a decrease - from 54,443 to 51,490.
Asturias provides the most striking case. Between 2015 and 2019 there were 89 purchases. From 2020 to the third quarter of last year this had leapt to 845. Other parts of northern Spain are said to be attractive to Balearic buyers, and the ministry figures back this up. There isn't a total for the whole of Galicia, but in provinces there have been notable increases - Lugo from 25 to 103, Ourense ten to 86, Pontevedra 35 to 110, A Coruña 50 to 276.
But there hasn't just been a pronounced movement to the north. In the Valencia region, the upward trend shows 47 to 227 in Castellón, 378 to 767 in Alicante and 318 to 892 in Valencia itself. Aragon and certain parts of Andalusia, e.g. Granada, have also been popular.
Is this movement all to do with price? On the face of it, this would appear to be the case. The average price for a 90-square-metre property in the Balearics, according to the association of registrars, is €370,000. In Asturias, it is €145,000. The average in Valencia is €158,000.
But this dynamic would seem to be contributing to increases in price in regions favoured by Balearic residents - Asturias up twelve per cent over the past year, for instance. In Cantabria, where the number of purchases has gone from 39 to 141, prices have risen by 18%.