The historic palace in Palma is on the market for nearly 14 million euros. | Fotocasa

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Palma is consolidating its position as a luxury urban property development destination. With an average price of 4,636 euros per square metre, fewer and fewer people can afford to buy a home, no matter how small. Prices have risen by 2.5% in the last month and 17.9% in the last year. In the very ‘heart’ of the city, next to the Plaza Major, a property is breaking all records. It is advertised on the Fotocasa portal for 13.9 million euros.

It is the family home of Francesc Mateu Nicolau, a leading figure in the world of opera, better known as Uetam. His descendants wanted his home, with all its belongings, to become an opera museum, but no agreement was ever reached with the authorities. In the early 2000s, a German investor ended up buying the property, which is now being sold as a ‘12th-century palace house’ declared to be a Property of Cultural Interest due to its high heritage value.

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As has happened with other protected heritage properties, the Council of Mallorca could exercise the right of first refusal to take over the property. With a surface area of 900 square metres distributed over three floors, it has 16 rooms, half of them with bathrooms, and is equipped with ‘carefully restored’ period furniture.

At the top of the palace awaits a spectacular rooftop terrace with panoramic views of the city. An ideal place to relax under the Mediterranean sun, whether enjoying a barbecue with friends or simply the horizon, while you let yourself be enveloped by the energy of the city, or if you prefer, you can take a warm sauna in its private gym,’ it says on the real estate website. It has never been revealed how much the Germans paid for it almost 25 years ago.

The big question is who will buy the property? The Poles have gone on a major spending spree in Spain snapping up more than 4,000 properties last year. Infact this is an increase of almost 1,000 properties compared to 2023 and a further big rise is expected this year. The growth in the number of Poles buying a villa or an apartment in Spain now places them behind Britons, Germans and Moroccans on the list of top foreign buyers.