Balearic islands lead Spain property recovery
The Balearic Islands are leading an improvement in the Spanish property market with the latest figures from the Public Works Ministry showing that sales last year increased by 14.5% compared with the previous year.
For the first time in three years, the downward trend has been reversed with Spain as a whole reporting a 5.9% year on year increase in sales in 2010 compared to 2009. According to the official government data, a total of 491,000 properties were sold in Spain last year, 10,860 on the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca and Formentera alone.
On the ground real estate agents are reporting an increase in interest and in buying. ‘Over the past 12 months we have seen buyer interest in the Balearic Islands, especially Majorca, rise steadily,’ said Ignacio Osle, sales and marketing director of Taylor Wimpey de España, Spain’s leading house builder with developments within the Balearics.
‘The largest Balearic Island offers something for everyone from amazing sandy beaches to stunning scenery, idyllic coves, traditional architecture and wide range of sports and leisure activities,’ he added.
Majorca has long been a favourite destination with British holidaymakers in particular who account for around 25% of all visitors. And indeed the popularity of the island has not escaped the attention of one of Spain’s leading carriers, Monarch Airlines, which is increasing its programme of flights from the UK to Majorca from April 2011 in response to customer demand.
‘Majorca remains one of the most sought after holiday and second home destinations in the Mediterranean. The local property market remains buoyant with foreign buyers keen to get a slice of island life by purchasing high quality, well located properties from as little as €143,900,’ added Osle.
Following the success of its other Majorca projects, Taylor Wimpey de España has just launched a new development on the east coast of the island. Cala Anguila is a boutique residential development comprising two bedroom apartments, set around lush gardens with direct access to the beach.
Only three kilometres from the amenities of Porto Cristo, Cala Anguila is ideally located with coves to explore, idyllic views to enjoy and numerous golf courses nearby, he added.
However, the increase in sales might have been driven by temporary factors such as the elimination of mortgage tax relief at the start of this year, and the increase in VAT on new home sales mid way through last year, according to Spanish property expert Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight.
‘Furthermore, sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 at 93,003 transactions, were down 1.85% on the same period last year, suggesting the market has yet to find the legs for a sustained recovery,’ he added.