Foreign home buying in the Balearics fell by over 25% in 2020

The number of sales was nevertheless the second highest in Spain

Mobility restrictions affected foreign home buying. | A.S.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma17/04/2021 19:16

According to real-estate consultants CBRE, there was a 26.5% decrease in the number of homes in the Balearics bought by foreign buyers in 2020. The actual number was 11,539, which placed the Balearics second in the country behind the Canaries.

Tonia Vera, regional director of CBRE in Palma, says that demand - especially in coastal areas - was affected by mobility restrictions. As well as a fall in volume of sales, there was an impact on price. However, she adds that thanks to the stability of the Balearic market, an absence of competitors and incipient economic recovery in European countries, sales are expected to pick up.

In terms of type of property, there was an 8.9% fall in the purchase of new homes last year - to 1,188 - while the decrease for secondhand homes was 28% to 10,351. As for location, the market behaved differently. There was slight growth in Algaida, Marratxi and Santa Maria. By contrast, in coastal areas of Mallorca and Ibiza there was a fall of up to 30%.

With new developments, these were mostly in Palma and Ibiza. In Palma there were 48 developments with 2,304 homes. In general terms, explains Vera, the Balearic market was highly resilient last year; the slowdown did start to moderate.