Mallorca has been an international star for many years among those seeking homes in the sun

Stephen Dight, Managing Director of Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty, looks back on 2011 and looks forward to 2012.

2011

During 2011 the Mallorca property market has been exceptionally good and has held up surprisingly well. This year has seen a marked improvement over 2010 in terms of sales, a year I would cite as being the absolute bottom, albeit still far off the volumes seen in the peak years of 2007 and 2008.

Correctly priced villas in near-perfect condition in coveted locations will sell comfortably. They not may sell at a huge premium but neither will they sell at a huge discount. From the 2007 peak to the 2010 bottom, prices in this sector only dipped 10 or 15 per cent.

Two key factors have been responsible for Mallorca’s spectacular resilience and they are a lack of product and a vast mixture of nationalities participating in the property market. Especially at the top end of the market, there is simply not the same over-supply as you would find on, for example, the Costa del Sol.

Once we have a buyer’s specific requirements we can pretty much show them every house that fits that criteria in a day or two – there just isn’t an abundance of quality property on the market and therefore any need for huge discounting. I would argue that Mallorca is crying out for top quality apartment communities with on-site facilities such as tennis courts, indoor pools and spas, landscaped gardens, gymnasiums and concierge services – these are few and far between on the island yet in enormous demand.

Hugely motivated

Another factor is the different nationalities participating in real estate here. Over the years Germans have made up the majority of foreign homeowners in Mallorca and their recession is behind them so there is not a huge supply of interested sellers on the island.

Many of them are now hugely motivated to release the capital tied up in their second homes in order to fund their businesses and their interests back in the UK at a time when the British banks have effectively stopped lending. As sterling has depreciated, these vendors are prepared to slash prices in the knowledge that the exchange rate will protect them against huge losses. This scenario has not existed in Mallorca. And, interestingly, more British buyers are participating in Mallorca real estate than perhaps people realize.

At Mallorca Sotheby’s we’re receiving many British buying clients, especially those who converted their assets into cash before the recession hit or those entrepreneurs who have been able to profit from the recession. One notable sale in 2011, although not one Mallorca Sotheby’s can claim responsibility for, was the so-called most expensive property in Spain, the 232 acre estate of La Fortaleza near Pollenca, changing hands from one Brit to another at an alleged sales price of €40 million.

As I said, most buyers believe, as do I, that prices in Mallorca bottomed out in 2010 and will fall no further. If a suitable property becomes available there is no reason not to buy. There is no benefit to be gained from waiting – in fact that property is likely to have sold.

2012

C'an Amengual at Fornalutx, Mallorca

For 2012 we expect a top down recovery, that is to say continual improvement in the top quality end of the market with a trickledown effect spreading to the lower priced property. I also expect the European printed press and television media to bring closure to their antagonistic approach to Spanish property, an approach that has been very scattergun, painting all of Spain in a bad light regardless of quality or region.

The Spanish Government is also taking positive steps to restore confidence in its property market, to stimulate growth whereas before, it at best ignored problems or at worst positively damaged the market with inconsistent and questionable practices. These practices are firmly in the past.

I don’t have a crystal ball, but every recession is cyclical and as it comes to its inevitable end the British will return in numbers, the German buyers will return in droves and confidence in Mallorca will be restored leaving it as strong as ever. Mallorca will always be a loved destination for many people. It’s easily accessible from across Europe with direct low-cost flights, has that indefinable island vibe and is simply beautiful from coast to mountain.

To contact Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty visit www.mallorcasir.com

The rugged mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana rise to 1,445 metres and its proximity to the coastline ensures an attractive Mediterranean backdrop for properties

During the 35th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Paris this June, Mallorca’s Serra de Tramuntana landscape was recognised for its outstanding universal value. The sheer-sided 90km mountain range running from Andratx in the southwest to Pollença in the northwest has now earned a place on the World Heritage List for its continued protection.

Stephen Dight, Managing Director of Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty, comments: “The Serra de Tramuntana is an enormously popular part of the island in which to live and holiday as the scenery is so dramatic. Towns such as Deià which has been home to Mick Jagger, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Richard Branson and poet Robert Graves, Fornalutx which has twice been elected Spain’s most beautiful village and Valldemossa which has hosted Polish composer Frédéric Chopin and French writer George Sand, all occupy this geographical area of Mallorca and each attracts a wealth of expatriates from across the globe keen to soak up the culture, the sea views and the sunshine. Properties in this region often command high price tags and rarely stay on the market for long.”

Characterised by agricultural terraces, dry stone walls and large farming estates often owned by wealthy Mallorcan aristocracy, the Serra de Tramuntana is the most significant limestone area on the island and it has been eroded by centuries of weather and water to create deep torrents and dramatic gullies. Native flora includes holm oaks and pine forest while a variety of fauna from goats to sheep and ospreys to falcons, have all made the Serra de Tramuntana their home.

On the property market in the Serra de Tramuntana:

Deià, West Mallorca

A classic 230m² built townhouse dates back to 1880 and is located in the centre of Deià, one of the most sought-after and picturesque villages on the island. Arranged across four storeys, the ground floor, which used to be a carpentry, comprises two split-level rooms and a recent extension of 30m² that has been converted into a bedroom and washroom – this part of the house would make an ideal separate apartment with its own street and garden access. The main entrance is on the first floor with an open-plan living/dining room, woodstove and kitchen with open fireplace while the second floor accommodates the master suite with 20m² dressing area. Two further bedrooms are found on the third floor with sloping wooden ceiling beams. The lovely 195m² garden with various terraces has breathtaking views of the village and mountain range.

Price 880,000 euros

The views from the historic townhouse at Valldemossa, Mallorca are exceptional

Valldemossa, West Mallorca

Charming 150m² built historic townhouse situated in the centre of the popular mountain village of Valldemossa. The spacious and well-loved accommodation comprises a large open-plan lounge/dining room with terrace and feature central fireplace, separate television room, office, an en-suite master bedroom, two further bedrooms and a family bathroom – all with panoramic views of the village, La Cartuja (15th century former royal residence) and mountains.

Price 380,000 euros

Contemporary semi-detached villa of 190m² set high above Puerto Soller with fantastic views of the marina.

Puerto Soller, West Mallorca

The home has three en-suite bedrooms, a double aspect lounge with patio doors leading out to the barbecue area and terraces, a large kitchen/dining room with patio doors and a guest cloakroom and laundry room. Extras include hot and cold air-conditioning, an internal lift, full alarm system, carport and a stunning infinity swimming pool set on a 980m² plot.

Price 875,000 euros

Contact Mallorca Sotheby’s International Realty by visiting: www.mallorcasir.com

Scott's Hotel in Binissalem, Mallorca is one of the most desirable places to stay on the island

George Scott spent his life until the age of fifty doing almost everything except what he really wanted to do: write mystery novels.

He made documentary films, traded in gold and silver, ran a charitable foundation, flew planes and restored historic houses. His life was far from dull.

But during all that time what he really longed to do was lead a relaxed life, meet an abundance of interesting people, have time off for travel and reading and music and sports and the chance to pursue that elusive hobby — penning those murder mysteries.

Regrettably, for a half century he never found anything to do that wasn’t time consuming, long on stress and short on leisure. Everything seemed to be so all or nothing. Or else it was boring.

Love at first glance

Until one day back in the middle eighties, when he and his partner Judy, an architectural designer, were on the island of Mallorca (or Majorca) and ran across a lovely 1783 historic ruin – no electricity, no drains, no water, and with a tree growing through the roof. It was the old cliché of love at first glance.

Comfort and attention to detail are what Scott's provides for its clients

The building was decidedly all wrong for them — a potential money pit that would involve bureaucracy, a sheaf of permissions, and the logistics of working in a language neither of the Scotts spoke, and all this in a medieval wine village with dusty streets of golden stone whose cobbles had rarely been trodden by a foreigner, unless it was someone from the next town up on the map, (three miles away but decidedly foreign territory).

In spite of all the drawbacks, something kept bringing George and Judy back to that town and that historic ruin, and after three years, more money and more work than they ever could have imagined, Scott’s Townhouse Hotel opened its doors to immediate and virtually universal praise: from the press, from travel experts, but most important, from their guests.

And from then on, George was able to begin living that original dream; fascinating people did indeed come to visit, including many famous folk looking for a secret hideaway, a place where they were treated as special, not because of who they were, but because the Scotts treated everyone as special.

The work itself of running the place was soon a routine which could easily be delegated, and finally there was time to be semi-retired, to visit places long on the Scott’s wish list, explore opportunities that came up via the new friends their guests were becoming. Some guests became virtually part of the Scott family.

Along the way, as twenty-some years rolled by, awards came, their reputation grew, and it even turned out that George finally had the time to have a go at those books he’d always wanted to write.

The first one, The Bloody Bokhara, about a murder that takes place inside the hotel; fiction, but based on a real Bokhara rug that’s outside one of the suites, sold well in the UK, but then went on to became a top bestseller in Germany and eventually Book of the Month for Europe’s largest book club.

His second one, The Chewed Caucasian, sold out its first two printings and is even hard to find now on amazon.co.uk. A third one is now in the works.

Scott's Hotel in Galilea has one of the most spectacular views on the island

Looking back, George calls his life over the past two decades: “a programmed dream, all I ever wished for and clutches of lovely experiences I never could have imagined.”

However, all things have an end, and now at 75, with his health – and that of Judy – increasingly fragile, the Scotts are looking for someone to whom they can pass the torch, people who will maintain the standards and the reputation they’ve secured, and who they hope will find the same degree of creative fulfilment they did running a hotel that renowned hotel critic Alistair Sawday named in the Sunday Times as one of his six favourite hideaways in the Mediterranean.

Scott’s Townhouse Hotel: Fact Sheet

• Official Spanish government category: Hotel with 4 gold stars.
• Constructed: 1783. Completely renovated in 1995, well maintained since. Listed on the Spanish register of historical buildings.
• Location: In the central church square of Mallorca’s wine capital, a town of 7,000 just twenty minutes from Palma, the island’s capital, ten minutes from the mountains, and less than half an hour to sandy beaches, sailing, golf and other attractions. There is free parking directly outside the hotel.
• Rooms: 18, licensed capacity 33. Five double suites, one triple suite, six deluxe double rooms, six superior doubles, one of which is small enough effectively to be a single room.
• Size: Approximately 1,500 square metres of constructed space on a plot of 2,000 square metres.
• Amenities: Roman pool with swimjet and massage jets, two sun terraces, bar, breakfast room, private entrance hall, library, two sitting rooms, guest tea service facilities, WiFi, TVs on demand with satellite connection, patio garden.
• Reviews and reputation: Listed by the London Sunday Times as one of the Mediterranean’s six best hideaway hotels. Fine reviews from virtually all of the quality guides and hotel information publications and websites.
• The buyers we’re looking for: Having spent over twenty years building the reputation of Scott’s, we would like to find people who’d like to carry the torch forward, maintaining, even improving, on the loyal customer base we’ve built, and our impeccable reputation. The hotel can be run full time, or for as little as eight months a year, which means it could be an ideal semi-retirement project.

Address: Plaza Iglesia 12, 07350 Binissalem, Mallorca, Spain

Telephone: (34) 626 486644

Websites: www.scottshotel.com and www.scottstownhousehotel.com

Aires Pollensa apartments, just minutes from the beach. Thanks to the motorway from the island capital, Palma de Mallorca, the properties are around 30 minutes driving time from the airport

The capital city of Spain, Madrid, may be well known for its searing summer heat but this year’s hottest Spanish destination, in terms of property that is, could well be the Balearic island of Mallorca, according to Taylor Wimpey de España.

Ignacio Osle, Sales and Marketing Director of Taylor Wimpey de España, explains: “Over the last 12 months we have seen both visitor numbers and enquiries for property on Mallorca rise steadily. Buyers from the UK and Europe are not only looking at the traditional property hotspots on the mainland but further afield to Spain’s stunning islands such as Mallorca.”

Leading Spanish cities

And it’s not hard to see why this charming Mediterranean island is so popular. Mallorca offers something for everyone from amazing sandy beaches to stunning scenery, idyllic coves to traditional architecture and a wide range of sports and leisure activities.

Palma de Mallorca, the island’s capital, has also recently been voted one of the five leading Spanish cities for travel and tourism in 2010 by Exceltur.

Over 21 million passengers pass through Son San Joan airport at Palma de Mallorca every year, making it Spain’s third busiest airport and in summer, the busiest. In response to demand from the public, numerous airlines have increased frequency and started new routes to the island making accessibility even easier.

Taylor Wimpey de España are launching two new residential developments, Aires de Pollensa and a new phase at Los Altos del Golf in Andratx

Eastern Airways will be launching new weekly direct flights from London Oxford Airport to Palma this June, easyJet is now operating a new flight from Manchester, tickets are on sale with Jet2.com from Glasgow to Palma and budget airline Ryanair will commence routes from Birmingham to the island this summer as well as a new national route from its base in Alicante.

In addition to passengers coming to the island by air, Mallorca is also seeing significant numbers of visitor arrivals by sea with Palma receiving over 500 cruise ships last year, carrying some 1.3 million passengers. Docking in Palma has become so popular in fact that a designated berth is under construction at a cost of some 28 million euros by the Port Authority in the Poniente docks to accommodate up to five of the larger vessels.

The Balearic property market remains robust with a 145% increase in property sales in 2010 compared to 2009 recorded by the Public Works Ministry and Mallorca itself has the second highest average asking price in Spain at €428,300 according to the latest Kyero.com Spanish House Price Index (Q1 2011).

Interest is already high

Asking prices however have fallen over the last 24 months as the market has realigned and affordable properties are available. Taylor Wimpey de España, for example, are launching two superb new residential developments, Aires de Pollensa, just minutes from Pollensa beach in the north of the island and in respond to client demand, a new phase at Los Altos del Golf in Andratx, in the south west.

Both developments offer a very high standard of build, with spacious 2-bedroom apartments at Aires de Pollensa available from €260,000 and large detached 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom properties in one of Mallorca’s most exclusive areas at Los Altos del Golf available from €505,000.

Just launched to the market, interest in these developments is already high. For more information, contact Taylor Wimpey de España today on 08000 121 020 or visit www.taylorwimpeyspain.com. If you live outside the UK, you will need to call 00 34 971 706 244.

Could you find anywhere better than the Mediterranean? Small wonder so many people want to move there!

What, I was asked the other evening, was it about living in Spain that you loved so much, that made you stay there for so many years. We were at a friend’s for dinner and the man sitting across the table from me clearly regretted he hadn’t done it himself some years before.

The question was just loud enough to cause one of those silences around the table that make you wish you were somewhere else. I knew that I could try and slide out of answering it but that would have led to my being pushed for a real answer. So that’s what I gave them.

The first part of the answer was that I love the Mediterranean and I have never been made to feel so welcome anywhere as I was by the Spanish. Put the two together and you’ll have the short answer. But that wasn’t enough so I went on to explain that it’s a mixture of the lifestyle, the food and drink and the extraordinary climate as well as the people.

The neighbours!

The truth is, there’s absolutely nothing better than waking up with the sunlight making stripes across your bedroom walls. As the day peers through the shutters you can feel its warmth. Then you stroll out onto the terrace and put your toe into your pool to check the temperature. The water is heating up nicely so you have a swim.

Then you get dressed and stroll into your local village to buy fresh, hot bread, have a coffee and a pastry in the café (or a carajillo – a half and half of espresso and cognac – I’ve seen lorry drivers drinking them in a bar near the station in Granada at 4am) and then there’s a slow walk home feeling the heat of the day gathering strength.

It’s a fact that there are thousands of people living exactly that lifestyle right now because they have bought a home in the sun. And there are almost certainly as many thousands who are thinking of little else but the day they can wave goodbye to the removals van as it sets off for the ferry.

How the market has changed

Some thirty years ago, most people dreamed of a home in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and possibly Florida. Since then, however, the market has opened up dramatically and there are expats in countries as far apart as Brazil to Thailand and Canada to Turkey.

Who wants to live anywhere else?

The reality is that people are no longer as worried about the distances separating them from the UK. The brake on many couples moving to a home abroad was the fact that they would rarely see their loved ones.

By now I was being asked questions around the dinner table by other people, but the main one they wanted an answer to was: “Wouldn’t we miss our families?” It was interesting how many were actually thinking of making the move. I pointed out that the Mediterranean countries allow you easy access back to the UK by road, rail and air.

And wherever you move to now, thanks to cheaper and faster flights and the Internet, it’s so much easier to keep in touch. Using a laptop means you can listen to the BBC, watch Sky TV or listen via the internet to Expatsradio.com. With a webcam you can hold unlimited, face-to-face chats with your family back home and probably once a year, you’ll be on a plane flying home for a holiday and to stock up on tea bags and Marmite.

There are thousands of people living exactly this sort of lifestyle because they have bought a home in the sun

I explained that there are some people who make the move to another country and then fret that friends and family won’t bother to come and see them. How wrong they are. The problem won’t be that they’re forgotten; it’ll be that they don’t have enough bedrooms. Doubtless they’ll shut the front door after waving off the latest visitors, sigh and say, “It’s nice to have the place to ourselves again.”

Just before we left that evening, I was asked: “How did you get on with learning the language?” The truth was that I never minded making a fool of myself when I made mistakes. I told them about the time I went into a pharmacy, got myself completely tangled up with what I was trying to say and apologised, saying I was deeply embarrassed for my poor Spanish. The staff and the customers all collapsed into gales of laughter. I asked what I had just said and they explained I had just told them that I was heavily pregnant.

The last question that evening was would I ever do it all again. “Well,” my wife said, “We are going to France three times in the next couple of months…”

The Occasional Guest

Dusk in the island paradise of Ibiza

It was one of those summer nights when the air felt like velvet. The heat of the day had passed but the terrace stones were still warm to the touch. My bare feet had that pleasantly gritty, dusty feeling as I stood up. Placing my glass of red wine on a nearby table I disturbed a gecko who scampered up the wall beside me, his tiny fingers gripping firmly into the crevices as he went in search of his supper, the odd mosquito and perhaps a spider or two. I looked up at the heavens over the Mediterranean, at the shawl of stars that seemed to have been flung across the dark night sky and that were too numerous to count, and gave thanks for my decision to live in Ibiza. This was as near paradise as you could find and I couldn’t imagine any other way of life.

Even the dust thrown up from the dirt road as Pep’s cart passed by on his way home to his farm from the bar smelled incredible, like some exotic blend of expensive herbs and spices. He’d seen the candles burning on my terrace as he and his elderly horse weaved their way past and an arm waved a salutation. “Bon a nit,” he cried blearily, his voice echoing down the valley. Almost as though in reply, a tiny Scops owl hooted a response, it’s call sounding like some weird piece of miniature electronic equipment.

Some neighbours from Pep's farm

Further up the valley and on the far side, a neighbour’s dog, Buster, decided that he ought to make his voice heard and to tell Pep that he should be home in bed and not out drinking. The echo of his barking bounced around the hills until it sounded as though a series of Busters was running back and forth. This completely freaked the dog out and made him bark even more until he suddenly stopped and silence descended over the valley like a healing blanket. I felt I could almost roll myself up in it and for a few moments I lay back in my chair, eyes closed, bathed in the feeling that every sense was wholly engaged in being alive.

I opened my eyes and looked at the dark outlines of the hills. What would tomorrow contain? A visit to the beach? Maybe. Some work? Possibly. But I was too tired to think about what was going to happen at least eight hours away and poured myself one last glass of wine. Standing up, I looked down the valley in the direction of the sea, at the strip of burnished silver moonlight reflecting off the water. As I continued to gaze at the ripples lapping on the shore, it seemed as though one of the stars had fallen into my neighbours’ house. Jan and Frieda, an elderly Dutch couple, were away in Holland and for a moment I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why a tiny light was moving around inside their home.

Ibiza was the kind of place back in the mid-’60s where you didn’t think of locking your front door, simply because it never occurred to anyone to steal anything. If your neighbour or a friend wanted to leave a package for you, they would either place it in the shade on your doorstep or put it carefully inside the front door. According to Margarita, a widow who lived up the hill behind me, this remarkable degree of honesty was because traditionally the punishment for theft was banishment forever from the island. Whether this was true or just an apocryphal story I never managed to find out, but I well understood how powerful a threat it was.

My cat, Tanit, waiting for his evening meal

Awake now, but still carrying my glass plus a torch, I went down the stairs to the road and headed towards their house. As I approached it, the light seemed to waver and then fall to the floor with an enormous crash. The front door was open and I could hear a strange moaning noise coming from inside. “Que puta,” a voice said irritably and as I shone my torch inside, I saw the figure trying to rise. Two things hindered it. The first was that its feet were inextricably tangled in the legs of a chair and the second was that it had clearly taken on board far too much alcohol judging by the wave of fumes that hit me as entered.

“Buenos noches,” I said politely shining the torch onto my face to let the figure see who it was.

On reflection, this might not have been the best thing to do under the circumstances. “Dios mio,” the figure cried, “es una fantasma, it is a ghost,” and with a terrible cry, it fell backwards once more. This time, it was just too much for the chair and a loud cracking noise indicated that it would need some serious first aid from a carpenter. “No me tocas, Señor fantasma, por favor, don’t touch me,” he moaned nervously.

“Buenos noches,” I repeated, “I am not a fantasma, I am a vecino, a neighbour of the Señores who own this house. Who are you, and what are doing here?”

“Yo?” he asked, somewhat mystified, his voice thickened by alcohol. “Who am I, Señor? No estoy seguro. Ah si,si, yo soy… me llamo Francisco y estoy buscando una copa. I’m called Francisco and I need a drink.” All this time he was lying on the floor gazing owlishly up at me. Now he’d found out I wasn’t a ghost, a happy smile creased his face. “Vd. tiene una copa, Señor, you have a drink,” he continued, peering hopefully at my wineglass.

From a distance, the almond blossom makes the fields in Ibiza look as though it has snowed

I suddenly remembered who Francisco was. I’d heard about him from one or two people who’d run across him at various times. He came from a farm some distance away and he used to roam around late at night looking for a free drink. He was completely harmless except for the fact that the light I’d seen inside the house was a candle that, thankfully, had gone out when he fell over.

I disentangled the chair from his feet and helped him up. He wavered and showed every sign of falling over again, so I put his arm around my shoulder, helped him out through the front door which I closed firmly behind me and we set off up the road towards my house. Owing to his condition, we swooped back and forth across the road like an elderly pair of Argentinian tango dancers. “Buenos noches, Señor,” he repeated politely each time we came to a halt for a few moments, “where do we go?”

“We’re going to my house where you can sit down and have a café solo, a black coffee and then you can go home.”

“Ooh, no, no, no, no, Señor, I never drinking coffee. I prefer un buen cognac,” he explained happily.

“Bueno, you can have your cognac but only if you drink it in a black coffee.”

“Ay, Señor, you are very Spanish. Un carajillo will be most pleasant,” he slurred happily. A carajillo was what many people had for breakfast, along with an ensaimada. The drink consisted of a miniature, and very strong, black coffee with a healthy shot of cognac in it and an ensaimada was a round and extremely sweet pastry dusted in icing sugar.

Nobody bothered to lock their doors

We eventually lurched up my stairs and I deposited my new companion in a chair while I went inside and put the kettle on. By the time I returned to him with his drink, he was fast asleep, his unshaven chin hanging loosely, his head resting delicately on the back of the chair and a loud series of snores erupted from his open mouth. I considered the situation for a moment. One of the things that life in Ibiza taught you was to be philosophical and accepting of unusual situations and having drunk the carajillo myself, I went in, found a spare blanket, covered Francisco up and went to bed myself.

The next morning, I ventured outside to see how my houseguest was getting on, but to my surprise, he’d gone. Sticking out from underneath a stone, however, was a small scrap of grubby paper and written in pencil it simply said, “Lo siento mucho, Señor, I am very sorry.”

For a long time after that I took to leaving a small glass of cognac outside my front door if I was going out for the evening. Although I never actually saw Francisco again, I knew when he’d been around our neighbourhood by the fact that the empty glass was placed neatly inside the front door. From time to time, there’d be another grubby note simply stating, “Gracias Señor.”

Mallorca is home to fabulous properties and the Global Ocean Race

Already renowned as a luxury location favoured by the yachting and sailing communities with classy restaurants, gorgeous properties and, of course, the magical Mediterranean, Mallorca has just been named as the start and finish of the Global Ocean Race 2011-12.

With over twenty entries from at least eleven nations it puts the Island on a new international stage. Although many boating enthusiasts are attracted by the facilities, many more stay for the beautiful climate, excellent food and luxury premium property close to the marinas.

Now, the Great Race announcement looks set to start another race in property as rental prospects surrounding the event begin to climb and Mallorca is firmly back in holiday home purchaser’s sights. Visitors will be clamouring to stay close to the Spanish Island’s shoreline in locations including Puerto Portals.

Mallorca is particularly proud of it coastline and puts a great deal of effort into maintaining and improving its beaches and marinas. This year eighteen marinas have been awarded a Blue Flag, one more than last year. Spain as a whole has been given more awards than any other nation with a total of 605 and according to the Association for Environmental Education the Balearic Islands have secured the largest increase this year across the whole country with eighty-five in total.

Mild winter climate

There are many popular leisure activities on offer in the area of Puerto Portals such as scuba diving, water-skiing and of course sailing, all of which are year-round hobbies in Mallorca with its mild winter climate. For those who prefer to keep their feet on terra firma there are also activities such as beach volleyball and cycling.

The traditional Spanish celebrations throughout the year are events not to be missed, when locals and visitors alike all come together on prominent religious dates in the Baleares and across Spain.

The increasing attention that Mallorca is receiving has pushed up visitor numbers markedly throughout the years. In 1960, the island received 500,000 visitors but by 1997 this had increased to 6.7 million.

Today, around 23 million passengers pass through Palma de Mallorca Airport each year with an additional one and a half million arriving by sea. With such a demand on the island, more than half of the population works in the tourist sector, accounting for approximately eighty per cent of the Mallorca’s GDP.

Mallorca’s property market

The tourism sector will put huge efforts into the opening and closing ceremonies for the Great Ocean Race in Mallorca. With support from Government bodies and corporate partners, the build-up to the start and finish of the race will be spectacular.

The island is highly regarded in the world of water sports and already hosts premium yacht racing events such as the Copa del Rey, the Palma Velas as well as the Superyacht Cup. It has high-quality marine services, great sailing conditions, stunning scenery, a rich maritime history and a lively onshore scene.

More and more people are choosing to enjoy life in the Balearic island of Mallorca

Taylor Wimpey, which has over fifty years of property development experience in Mallorca, has just completed a new residential complex close to the marina in Puerto Portals. Victor Sague, the sales and marketing director says: “The local area is already noted for being fashionable and desirable for boat owners and beach lovers alike.

“News of the Great Ocean Race will only increase demand for this attractive location. With one year to go until the race begins, savvy buyers have the opportunity to purchase a holiday home.

“Mallorca’s property market has not been affected by the recession in comparison with some regions in mainland Spain mainly due to the lack of stock available compared to the demand for homes on the island. Spain as a whole is a very fragmented market and good locations and quality property will always sell well whatever the market conditions. International events just add to their appeal.”

Portals, Puerto Portals, Mallorca

This new residential complex consists of seven spacious 3-bedroom properties of approximately 143 m2 with 34 m2 terraces. The complex has private underground parking spaces, lush communal gardens and a communal swimming pool.

The ground floor properties have a private patio area and the rest have spacious terraces. The properties provide fully equipped and furnished kitchens and the Royal Bendinat Golf, whose president is King Juan Carlos I of Spain is close by.

Taylor Wimpey de España’s luxury apartment complex is connected by road to Palma de Mallorca by the Ma-1 motorway and is only 15 minutes drive away. It is also close to the Son Sant Joan international airport, with excellent connections to UK and most European cities. These properties are available now from €600,000.

Contact Taylor Wimpey España today on 08000 121 020 or visit www.taylorwimpeyspain.com for more information.

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There is information on all our embassy websites about living in that country. But remember, our embassies can only do so much. It’s your responsibility to find a place to live, ensure you can support yourself financially and find a school for your children.

Register with the British embassy on arrival

You should register with the nearest embassy or consulate so we can provide assistance if you need it.

Use our LOCATE service to submit your details.

Where can I move to?

British Nationals have the right to live in any country in the European Economic Area (EEA).

The following countries are in the EEA:

All full members of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

Plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

For other countries contact the local British embassy for more info.

Healthcare abroad

You will have to pay for healthcare in many countries. You should fully research the health care system of the country you are moving to before you go.

The local embassy can give you more advise about a country’s healthcare system.

It may be advisable to buy health insurance once you are abroad.

Schools and education

Contact the country’s local education authorities to find out about the education system. The government’s website will also have useful information on education in that country.

Most countries have English or international schools which you should be able to find on the Internet.

Voting overseas

The Electoral Commission fact sheet explains how you can vote in general elections when you live overseas.

You can’t vote in local elections or elections for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Assembly if you live overseas.

Births, marriages and deaths

Our pages on births, marriages and deaths explain how to register births and deaths and have info on marrying abroad.

All our embassy websites have local and specific info on this.

Advice from www.ehic.uk.com on the European Health Insurance Card

It’s really important to apply for an EHIC Card (this is the replacement for the old E111). Go to: http://www.ehic.uk.com/cover.html

You can quickly and easily apply online for your European Health Insurance Cards using the EHIC Application Service. Each person will need to provide details of their full name, date of birth and National Insurance or NHS number (CHI in Scotland or Health and Care Number in Northern Ireland).

Having an EHIC Card can help you to avoid problems

Most people can apply online using this service or by calling the NHS Business Services Authority on 0845 645 0707, but you will need to apply by post in the following circumstances:

If you are not a national of the UK, EEA or Switzerland.

If you are studying abroad.

If you are already working abroad but remain UK employed or self employed.

If you need to update your personal details or add a dependant, speak to the EHIC enquiries team on 0845 605 0707. Please be aware that use of this service is subject to our website terms and conditions and the service charge incurred is payable privately to Imap (UK) Limited who are by no means affiliated to or linked in any way to the NHSBSA.

Apply Online for a European Health Insurance Card

You can quickly and easily apply online for your European Health Insurance Cards using the EHIC Application Service. Each person will need to provide details of their full name, date of birth and National Insurance or NHS number (CHI in Scotland or Health and Care Number in Northern Ireland).

Most people can apply online using this service or by calling the NHS Business Services Authority on 0845 645 0707, but you will need to apply by post in the following circumstances:

• If you are not a national of the UK, EEA or Switzerland.
• If you are studying abroad.
• If you are already working abroad but remain UK employed or self employed.

The EHIC site points out that:

If you need to update your personal details or add a dependant, speak to the EHIC enquiries team on 0845 605 0707. You should be aware that use of this service is subject to our website terms and conditions and the service charge incurred is payable privately to Imap (UK) Limited who are by no means affiliated to or linked in any way to the NHSBSA.

The residents of each of the three main islands, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza are fiercely proud of their homes and I remember once making the mistake of describing Ibiza as part of Cataluña, the region ruled over by Barcelona, in front of an elderly Ibicencan man.

His reply was a grimace, a lecture about geography, history, politics, culture, wine, fishing and agriculture and, I suspect, my parentage, although my Spanish wasn’t good enough at that point to understand what he actually said. The local dialects were banned during Franco’s years in power and residents were forced to speak Castillian Spanish.

However, once this law was repealed, the languages burst into full flower once again and with them, so did the future of the islands. Ibiza became a clubber’s paradise; Mallorca, which had been known as a package tourist’s paradise received government aid to completely refurbish its infrastructure, and Menorca, which had always remained slightly apart from the tourist explosion, gradually moved into building low rise developments aimed at foreign residents.

Foreigners who come to the Balearic Islands are a multi-cultural group, with people drawn from every corner of the world. Britons, Germans, French, Dutch, Americans, Australians, Canadians, mainland Spanish and the locals all rub shoulders happily on each of the islands both as tourists and residents.

Marine views

Each of the three islands has its own character in every sense of the word. Ibiza looks like a Cubist painter’s dream with small white farmhouses with room after room stacked up on top of each other, its tree-clad hills and its rich red earth; Mallorca with its majestic mountain range rearing up to Valldemosa and its links with Chopin, its central plain and coastal resorts; Menorca and its historic links with Britain, Nelson, ginger beer, cricket and its prehistoric monuments.

And then, of course, there’s Formentera, just a boat ride away. Flat, small and gentle, Ibiza’s delicate little sister is not for the seeker after overdoses of noise and nightlife. But Formentera, whose length you can cycle in just half an hour, is ideal for those wanting a beach, an umbrella and a quieter way of life.

Are the Balearic Islands a good choice for buying an overseas property?

There’s so much choice, but where should you look for a home? The first question is: What do I want? The fact is that the Balearic Islands provide the property seeker with a world of choice. From crowded beaches full of suntan cream, naked bodies and beach bars, through family resorts with quieter restaurants, calmer harbours and homes set back from the hustle and bustle to serene farmhouses set on hillsides clad in majestic pines, the islands have it all. And getting there is simple from almost anywhere in Europe.

Mallorca

Traditionally the capital of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca woke up about 10 years ago and realised how far down the slippery slope it had gone in terms of quality of tourism. Always a popular holiday destination, Mallorca has attracted many foreign residents who bought apartments and house in almost every corner of the island, but the quality of the infrastructure had suffered badly. The island was a tired old lady in severe need of a facelift and several weeks in a health farm.

The islanders set about changing their home and billions of pesetas were invested in roads, water, drains, telephones, the airport and cleaning up the beaches and today, Mallorca ranks high in the list of places where the jet set goes. The image of the island today is one of an up-market destination where property purchasers can enjoy a superb quality of life. The capital is Palma de Mallorca, a fine city with excellent restaurants, great hotels and superb shopping and a great airport linking it with the rest of the world.

Home to golf courses, an opera house that features stars from all over the world, harbours and marinas where some of the most luxurious boats in the Mediterranean tie up, Mallorca has property developments second to none with some of the most elegant homes in Europe.

A number of international celebrities own home on the island. They include film stars such as Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta Jones and former F1 star, Michael Schumacher, while Don Juan Carlos, King of Spain and his wife Sofia enjoy summer holidays there

Menorca

Menorca has always been modest about its achievements and its many qualities. Perhaps the fact that it was owned by Britain during the 18^th century makes it slightly different to the other Balearic Islands. Certainly the locals are proud of their Georgian architecture, their dairy farms and their enjoyment of gin.

Menorca hasn’t repeated the mass tourism mistakes made by Mallorca and Ibiza. Rather, it has concentrated on developing its shoe industry and only in recent years has it started to encourage foreign residents.

Low level developments are being built around the coast, but great care is being shown and perhaps those seeking to buy a property on Menorca will be looking for a quieter, more laid-back lifestyle. The two main towns, Maó (or Mahon) and Ciutadella are different from each other.

Maó is where the tourist will find the most typically Georgian buildings and has a distinctly international feel, doubtless thanks to its wonderful harbour, while Ciutadella retains more of a Spanish air and in the past has provided palaces for wealthy Catalan families.

You’ll find that the island of Menorca is pretty much bisected by one main road which connects the two towns. Between, there is a rural landscape of dry stone walls, market towns and factories which produce everything from ice cream to shoes.

For those that love the sun, sea and sand, look for names such as Cala D’Algairens, Cala En Turqueta, Cala Macarella and Cala Pregonda. These aren’t the typical tourist beaches but there are properties to be bought and if it’s a typical tourist development you want, head for Cala Santa Galdana.

Menorca is emerging carefully into the tourist 21^stcentury and with it, there are more and more places for the property purchaser to think about. But this is an island where tradition counts, and you can be sure it won’t allow the island to be spoiled by too much concrete.

Ibiza

Ibiza (or Eivissa as it’s known locally) is the Balearic Island that’s known the world over for its nightlife and for its clubs. But don’t be put off by this if staying out till dawn isn’t your thing. The locals are going through a similar process to the ones in Mallorca and they are putting their house in order. While this doesn’t mean they’ll be closing down the clubs, emphasis is being placed on the quality of the lifestyle for the permanent island residents.

As in the rest of the Balearic Islands, it is now recognised that tourists are great for about four or five months of the year, but it’s the year-round residents that keep things going for the rest of the year. Towns and villages such as San Carlos, San Jose, Santa Gertrudis and San Juan are still home to many who love Ibiza for its many fine qualities and these days the facilities, such as water, phones and electricity function as they should.

The White Island, or La Isla Blanca, Ibiza is dotted with fincas, or farmhouses, have grown just as the families grew. As another generation came along, so an extra room was added and the whole thing was whitewashed, making it look as the house has been built with a child’s building blocks.

This is a truly international community and foreigners have bought fincas, modern houses and apartments all over the island. Go out to dinner and, just like Mallorca, Menorca and Formentera, you’ll be surrounded by a dozen different languages, and they’ll all be saying the same thing; “Isn’t this a great place?”

San Antonio in Ibiza is still the main destination for those seeking long nights and lazy days. Clubs and bars abound but for those with the energy to get up and go to the beach, there’s plenty of choice as well. Boats make regular trips up and down the coast and there are plenty of beach restaurants for long lunches before heading back to the serious business of a long night of fun.

Ibiza town is the capital of the island and main administrative centre, as well as having great shopping, restaurants and bars. Check out the La Marina area and wander through the cobbled streets of D’alt Vila up to the Cathedral. See whether an apartment in town would suit you.

There again, perhaps Santa Eulalia will be your ideal local village, with its sugar cube church sitting atop the village, its easy-going lifestyle and its many bars and restaurants. Nearby San Carlos was originally the haunt of the island’s original hippies back in the 1960s and there are developments in this part of the island with houses and apartments to suit all tastes.

In fact, despite all the things that have been said about Ibiza in the press, it would be hard to find somewhere (apart from Mallorca or Menorca – choices, choices!) that had as much to offer the second home buyer or retiree.

Formentera

Formentera is the little sister of Ibiza and, so far is only within reach by boat (or your own private helicopter). Two high plateaux one in the west and one in the southeast are linked by a flat part in the middle. On either side of this lie two beaches, Platja de Tramuntana to the north and Platja de Mitjorn to the south. Formentera harks back to an earlier time and even if you buy a property on one of the other islands, don’t miss the chance of spending time on the smallest of the Piutiusas, the little gems of the Balearic Islands.

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.