Second Homes

According to Engel & Völkers, the ubiquitous German estate agency, Majorca heads the league for second-home ownership across the Med. This does not surprise. Move about many an urbanisation, especially one by the coast, and there are any number of unoccupied properties - unoccupied but not un-owned. These are not necessarily properties owned by foreigners, though many of course are. Two homes are common for Majorcans, but there is a concern for some two-home owners. Typically the second home has been bought with a guarantee from the first home. This has not been a problem in the recent past, when mortgages were cheap and plentiful. But now that repayments have gone up, there are those who find themselves struggling, and selling the first or second home is not that easy at present if, that is, one wants to recoup the investment. And many Majorcans are loathe to drop prices. Indeed, it is not uncommon for prices to go up, even at times when the market is slow.

Nevertheless, the estate agency says that the market for second homes is still good, but the level of such ownership brings an additional problem - a shortage of property and of land on an island with a growing population, much of it incoming. A construction boom there may well have been, but there is still a shortage especially for social housing. The Balearic Government, faced by environmental constraints, wants to encourage building in existing urban areas, which sounds ok, but is leading in some cases to claustrophobic density. The alternative is to use green belt (or the local equivalent thereof), but the environmental objections are significant. It would be unfair to place all the blame on those with two homes, but the island, if it wishes to maintain its quality of life whilst also housing everyone who wants to move here, may have to consider some limits. However, as much of the second-home stock comes in at 500,000 euros or so, don't expect any great reverse in policy.


And a bit of an update to yesterday. Michael Winner was apparently suitably impressed by his restaurant visits, and may well be telling the world about them this coming Sunday.

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