Majorca Property is Supreme

May 16, 2010 - PRLog -- There is something unashamedly romantic about Britons who buy homes on Majorca. In these property-savvy days, people usually weigh up hard-nosed factors before choosing where to buy a place in the sun.

Property prices have become as stellar as the cast list of owners. Although the market has wobbled slightly over the past two years - some areas of the island have risen, others not, leaving average prices roughly unchanged since 2005 - values over the past decade have soared about 170 per cent.

Building regulations, once unheard of in Majorca, now ensure that new homes are of a high standard; tall towers are banned in a bid to avoid Spanish mainland-style over-development; and many areas have a quasi green belt designation, so detached homes must be in large plots to avoid dense development.

For the super rich, Majorca is the ultimate second, third or fourth home destination. There are golf courses, Michelin-starred restaurants and pristine beaches. "Majorca now rivals Antibes as the super yacht hub of the western Mediterranean," says Andrew Hawkins of Chesterton International. The most expensive houses – some cost more than €50 million (£46 million) – are found around Deià, Andratx and Son Vida.

The north of the island boasts mountain villages and rugged terrain, now more accessible thanks to new roads. The coast benefits from natural harbours such as Puerto Soller, perhaps the hottest local property market in the Med. Millionaires flock to established playgrounds around Andratx, Puerto Portals and Palma.

A wealthy songwriter and musician, like Mike Oldfield, who bought a finca near Santa Maria four years ago with his wife. "It dawned on me that because of the internet it wasn't necessary to be tied to one place," he says. "So we decided to move somewhere sunny." Their house is surrounded by mountains yet a short drive from the sea. "Majorca is an incredibly inspiring place to work. It's lush and mountainous and in other places it looks like the moon."

Samples of the SOUTH-WEST
It is 30 minutes from the airport and has an excellent infrastructure, but it also has Magaluf, clubs and all-day English breakfasts. Escape by aiming for resorts such as Portals and Santa Ponsa, or the delightful Andratx. "It's a genuine fishing village with trawlers, harbourside cafés and restaurants, pleasure boats and yachts," says Robert Maunder. Expect to pay £300,000 upwards.

Sample of the EAST COAST
The best value is to be had here. It's up to an hour from Palma airport, although temperatures can be 10 per cent lower than in the west, so it can be quiet in winter. The largely unspoilt towns of Arta and Capdepera vie for attention with brasher resorts such as Cala Bona. Small flats in dense schemes start at £100,000 while restored period houses will cost you £1million-plus.

Sample of the NORTH-WEST
Once this was hard to get to, but tunnels and roads from Palma mean it's a 45-minute drive from the airport, prompting Sebastian Boelger of Engel & Volkers to declare: "There are no inaccessible or remote parts of Majorca now." Thus tiny Soller, a quiet fishing port a decade ago, is now a property boom town: apartments with sea views fetch £350,000-plus and houses can demand up to £2 million or more.

Sample of the area in and around PALMA
The prettiest properties are modernised old stone houses and flats in the Cathedral quarter. Most buy-tolet flats are in blocks built since the 1960s. The city centre is 15 minutes from the airport. Expect to pay £130,000 to £400,000 for apartments and up to £1million-plus for houses. Nearby Puigpunyent and Establiments offer flats from £200,000 and country houses at £600,000 or more

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Andria Bolton
Quality Properties for Sale in Majorca - Villas, Apartments, Fincas, Houses and Farmhouses
http://www.forsalemajorca.org/