Demand for luxury housing has not yet reached its peak

In some areas of Majorca, luxury chalets and apartments have reached the two million pesetas per square metre mark, around £7'150 which is more expensive than current property rates in London. Leading international property agents in London, somewhat surprised by the high price per square metre, said yesterday that a square metre of “good quality, nice housing in London, obviously not areas like Mayfair, are currently on the market in the £5'000 to £7'000 range.” However, two million pesetas or not, the luxury home market in Majorca has far from reached its peak. Leading Palma-based property agent Kühn & Partner, whose properties in some areas of the island have reached the two million per square metre mark, says that the prices are being fuelled by the high demand for luxury properties. Since 1998, the number of inquiries for quality properties in Majorca has increased from 12 percent to 34 percent. “But I don't think the demand for housing in Majorca has reached its peak, there are continually more and more foreigners and people from the mainland interested in living here,” Kühn & Partner's Chairman Matthias Kühn says. Kühn & Partner are about to target the mainland market with a promotional campaign in mainland newspapers and the top selling magazine “Hola”. Some 833'000 promotional pamphlets about luxury chalets and apartments in Majorca and Ibiza are to be distributed in total. “The time has come to make a move on the mainland in order to see how the market will react,” Kühn said. During the first nine months of this year, the company experienced an increase in sales of 56 percent, when compared to January to September 1999 and two thirds of the increase in property sales have been in the south west of the island, between Son Vida and the Port of Andratx.