Building in Sa Pobla, Mallorca

Restorations and renovations in the centre of Sa Pobla. | Juanjo Roig

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterSa Pobla30/06/2021 16:13
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Applications for building licences in Sa Pobla almost doubled last year. In 2020, the town hall received 145 applications, 100 of which have been granted. Over the first six months of 2021, there have been 106; eight of these have so far been given the necessary licences.

A key reason for this activity is a boom in holiday and luxury homes. Sa Pobla's mayor, Llorenç Gelabert, says that buyers and developers are opting for Sa Pobla rather than Alcudia or Pollensa. This is because the market is saturated in the neighbouring municipalities and because of differences in prices. Sa Pobla is agricultural and inland, but it has "all the services and is just a few kilometres from the coast by road".

Sa Pobla has more tourist accommodation places than any other Mallorcan municipality that isn't on the coast - a total of 2,532. In the centre of Sa Pobla, renovations and new buildings are divided between properties for holiday rental and for permanent residence. A new and renovated hotel is about to open and another hotel project is under way. Away from the centre, Crestatx, S'Obac and Son Toni attract foreign buyers.

A further reason for the increase in the number of licence applications is that the town hall is quicker at processing them than other town halls in the area. Sa Pobla takes between four to six months to complete the process, and for the town hall this means revenue - 265,000 euros from the tax on construction, installation and works in 2020. In 2019, the revenue was 192,000 euros.