Foreigners who have come to Mallorca on vacation are taking advantage of their stay to buy a house on the island. For weeks, real estate agencies have been writing appointments from clients who reside abroad and who were waiting for any loophole to come to Mallorca to visit properties and get one.
This is confirmed by Hans Lenz, director of Engel & Völkers Mallorca Southwest and President of the Balearic Association of National and International Real Estate Companies (ABINI): «German clients have started to come and they are already buying right now. The British will be able to start moving shortly and will do the same. ‘
The agendas of real estate agencies that work with foreigners are full: “We are very busy. Many people want buy a home now to enjoy it this summer. And they look for everything: in the city, on the coast, Part Forana, farms, villas, flats … », says Lenz.
No crisis
The confinement has caused them to «have more desire to come to Mallorca. It has made them rethink many things in life. They have been locked up in their homes and now they are looking for one on the Island that meets their demands. British and Germans could not travel in winter and now they want to enjoy the sun, “says the president of Abini.
Lenz warns that neither Germany nor Great Britain have suffered in such a severe way the economic crisis derived from COVID, “they are highly industrialized and do not depend so much on tourism. So their budgets have not suffered when it comes to buying a new property. The confinement has allowed them to have more savings, which encourages them to buy a new home.
Lenz considers that «these investments They will be of great help to the economy of Mallorca.
The rent and sale generate capital movement. And if they decide to build or renovate a property on the islandThey are creating jobs and leaving money ”, says the president of ABINI.
He warns, yes, that although Mallorca is going through an economic crisis due to the pandemic, “there are no bargains. If we talk about quality second home areas, prices do not suffer. We will have to see in other more popular areas, but there they are not even going down. We are not facing a financial crisis but a pandemic, there is a lot of money circulating ».
In the same vein, Natalia Bueno, president of the Balearic Association of Real Estate Agents, agrees: «According to the INE, until the fourth quarter of 2020 the number of sales to foreigners was reduced but not the volume of the amount, because there were lower sales but higher amount ».
The pandemic confirms the interest of foreigners in the Island: «New technologies help to sell remotely but the purchase does not materialize until they make the physical visit. Travel restrictions do not help, ”says Bueno.
Even so, the president of the API warns that “last week I was at a notary in Inca and they told me that they already have as many protocol numbers as in all of last year: purchases of first homes and investments, number of mortgage firms in increase this first quarter … We will see what data the INE gives us for this first quarter “, says the president of the API.
Buying a house, a legal reason to travel to Mallorca
This week the agencies already await the landing of the English, who will be able to travel to Spain for business but not vacation reasons. “If you visit the island to acquire a property or sign a contract, it is already a legitimate reason,” says Lenz. Those who bypass the restrictions and come to the Island for vacation could be fined 5,000 pounds.
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