Majorca's next crisis laid bare as Britons face three hurdles in holiday home market
EXCLUSIVE: Majorca is one of the holiday destinations loved by British tourists to have been hit by a wave of anti-overtourism protests.
The anti-overtourism protests in Majorca don't appear to have affected the local holiday home market, according to a major real estate agency operating on the Balearic island.
However, three factors emerging in recent years may have prompted Britons to look elsewhere when it comes to buying a second home on the island, the managing director of Balearic Properties believes.
Antoni Fuster said the investment market in Majorca has always been dominated by German nationals.
However, his company attracts a majority of UK clients as it dominates the real estate market in the northern part of the island, which has historically attracted Britons.
In recent years, though, his company has noticed a shift in buyer trends, and while there has been a robust increase in both the number of inquiries and average price buyers willing to pay for a property in Majorca, Balearic Properties has noticed a surge in German nationals even in the area the company focuses its work on.
Data from enquiries made to Balearic Properties in the first quarter of 2024 show 33 percent of people looking to buy in Majorca are from Germany, while 29 percent are Britons.
The analysis of data from the whole of 2022, however, shows the largest share of enquiries that year, 33 percent, had come from UK nationals, followed by 31 percent of Germans. The following year, 34 percent of Germans and 32 percent of Britons had made enquiries to Balearic Properties, the company said.
Speaking about trends noticed by his company and the major hurdles now faced by UK prospective buyers in Majorca, Mr Fuster told Express.co.uk: "The German clients are the majority clients and buyers on the island.
"The [number of] British clients reduced after Brexit, and now the ban of the Golden Visa and the prohibition to rent holiday properties without a valid ETV licence don't help either."
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As noticed by the real estate expert, this year Spain cracked down on golden visas for non-EU nationals who invest in the property market. ETVs are rental licenses introduced by the local government to regulate the market of short-term lets, and dictate which types of properties are eligible to be rented out and on which terms.
As following Brexit UK nationals are no longer EU citizens, Britons thinking of getting a home in Majorca also need to consider they can stay within the European Union borders only a maximum of 90 days over a 180-day period without a visa - a restriction Germans don't need to abide by.
When it comes to the waves of protests that have swept through some of Spain's holiday hotspots most adored by British tourists, Mr Fuster said they are more likely to affect the rental business than people buying properties.
In recent weeks, thousands of people took their frustration to the streets in the Balearics and protested overtourism and the issues it creates for locals - including unaffordable housing, traffic chaos and higher cost of living.
These protests appear to have had an effect on people planning a holiday in Majorca.
According to local news outlet Majorca Daily Bulletin, roughly 44 percent of people will now think twice before holidaying in Majorca.
On the other hand, Mr Fuster believes worldwide crises such as the coronavirus pandemic and conflicts prompt people to "invest in something secure which is and always has been real estate".
He added: "The governmental changes including restrict licences have made the market more exclusive to clients able to buy without the necessity to rent."
