Balearic Islands see encouraging start to year for luxury property sales
The luxury property market in Spain’s Balearic Islands has seen an encouraging start to the year with demand from wealthy buyers reported as being well up on 2013.
Ibiza is seeing the biggest upswing, according to Glynn Evans, managing director of Ibiza Sotheby's International Realty, with interest being generated by a constant stream of luxury lifestyle news items relating to the island.
He pointed out that Ibiza is now thought to have the most expensive restaurant in the world with the Sublimotion restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel charging €1,500 euros per head for 20 courses. Also Michelin star chefs Ferran and Albert Adria of elBulli fame, have just announced that they're opening a new restaurant in Ibiza in 2015.
The 16th edition of the annual Gumball 3000 Rally concluded in Ibiza in June bringing supercars and supermodels to the island, the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship is on its way for a three day Grand Prix in September and the port of Ibiza it so have an €8 million facelift to create a much improved super yacht haven.
‘It's not just hearsay anymore that the island can rival the French Riviera in terms of cuisine, ambience and cool factors. ‘We're attracting buyers who have previously had homes in the South of France but are selling up and moving to Ibiza. The celebrities are also coming early this year, we've had Naomi Campbell, Sir Paul McCartney, Kate Moss, Enrique Iglesias, David Silva, Paz Vega, all in the past few weeks, and it all adds up to Ibiza being a very desirable place to own a second home,’ explained Evans.
‘Halfway through 2014 the island's luxury property market is in a very encouraging state. At the high end, there have already been in excess of 25 transactions for villas priced over €2 million, some with which we've had direct involvement, others where we have gained specific knowledge. There will undoubtedly be further high end sales that haven't been openly publicised,’ he said.
The firm is seeing unprecedented demand, up more than 50% on 2013, and Evans said it has already sold its target number of €2 million plus villas for the whole of 2014.
‘Although it's hard to evidence, particularly with the notoriety of Spanish statistics, prices are on an upward trajectory. The volume is really too low at the high end to draw proper year on year comparisons, but recently we had two parties fighting over the same house and one offered €150,000 over the asking price to seal the deal. Likewise, I would very much love to have some of last year's sold property still on our books, as I am sure they would achieve higher prices today,’ he pointed out.
He also explained that British buyers are still predominant, followed by a more even spread of Germans, French and Dutch. Generally interest is from Europe, and there has not been a rise in buyers from China and Russia attracted by Spain’s golden visa programme which grants citizenship…