Monaco , ok isn’t an island ,, but has ,many, many very rich people. And very , very expensive property . and very expensive club sandwiches and beer. But it provides affordable housing for only the local mongasse population. Subsidised housing, all paid for by vat. It also is a much smaller land area than Majorca . And has to recover the sea to build. So there’s a model how to provide homes for locals.

I had a typo, should be those *without assets are being slaughtered. Maybe that’s why I was downvoted? Otherwise, I didn’t realize monetary debasement was so controversial. It’s not about the euro vs the dollar vs the yen. When you increase the supply of currency, the value of the currency decreases. It’s an invisible tax, and the most pernicious of them all, as it hits wage earners and those without assets hardest (ie: lower/middle class). Asset owners are unaffected. Fix the money, fix the world.

It is all by design to wipe out the middle class around the world. Its happening everywhere. The end result is the uber rich then have complete control of the worker ant slaves. I doubt very much anyone readiing this rag will escape it, not even those who are asset rich. You will still be reduced to a bottom feeder forced to do the bidding of the uber rich!

Morgan WilliamsThe Euro is going to devalue further simply because there will be more of it; same as the Dollar. The difference between the two currencies is that one is The Reserve Currency of the World, while the other is not. All three top European economies are faced with declining prospects, deep structural issues, and underinvestment in key economic sectors, which may lead to further financial crisis. Germany is already in a recession, and now they are making the attempt to add 1.7 trillion in more National debt. European markets may be booming currently, but the markets are forever manipulated by various forces, stock buybacks are a particular favorite, selling fear porn to increase defense industry investment another, and are of no concern to folks who live paycheck to paycheck. American markets are in turmoil now but a new order will emerge sooner or later. Upper middle class wealth may be fleeing the USA in the latest trend, but the key difference between the two economies is the former can offer unlimited cheap energy to industry, while the latter is a dependent on outside sources, and we are seeing now the ramifications of that dependence in Germany. Numerous companies, like Apple and Nvidia and J+J, and countries like Saudi Arabia, Japan, Taiwan, UAE, have announced record setting new investment in the USA, whereas there is nothing on that order of magnitude inflowing to the EU. The capital markets in the EU are fragmented and small, "relatively." This is why the EU bureaucrats have created the SIU, Savings and Investments Union, to channel savings into so termed "productive" investments, capital markets and banking sectors. In other words, they intend to use Our savings to fix their broken system. Get accustomed to the phrase - Austerity - because we will be hearing it a lot in the future.

Virtually every developed country is having similar affordability and availability problems when it comes to housing, the main causes are mass immigration, stagnation in building affordable housing, government regulations, inflation, rising interest rates, and there is no easy fix. The reality with respect to the real estate market and foreign buyers like myself is we are not buying homes or apartments that a local family would ever consider or could afford. And as I’ve said before if the government took a portion of the land transfer tax which is a considerable tax and dedicated it to affordable housing in areas that had good public transport, abd was close to areas of employment a lot of the problem could be solved. Foreign buyers are not the cause or problem here.

WildwoodEverything is relative. The euro is going to devalue against what? The dollar? You havin a larf? 300 billion in capital flight? From Europe? Look at the markets. Far more than 300 billion has shifted from the US to European exchanges. Closer to a trillion. Maybe more by now... Capital is fleeing the US. 300 bil is a pittance (relatively).

Justin FlationI dont know why all the downvotes. The Euro is going to continue to devalue at a terrible pace for the next decade, at least, because the national debt brakes have now been abandoned, particularly in Germany. Because muh defense! And muh climate. We have seen something on the order of 300 billion in capital flight from Europe in just the last year. This will continue as Europe in general will be viewed as an unprofitable place for capital investment. None of this bodes well for the young. Remember, it isnt that the price of all things goes up, it is that the currency becomes worth less because there is more of it in circulation, ie., more debt; so one needs more to purchase the same things.

Bryan AdamsThe super rich don't pay taxes. Taxes are for the plebs. The so called trickle down economy is a massive lie. Money doesn't trickle down, it flows upwards.

I may be wrong but in the part of Spain that I live, more Spanish own second and third homes that foreigners...perhaps they should look at that first?

Never anything in this newspaper about the competition for housing, public services, schools, policing, health and hospitals pub8c resources from the 50,000 or so families that have arrived in the past 7 years from Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and particularly Morocco and Algeria. The island cannot provide social net for all these people.