Who owns Mallorca? When almost every second home in Andratx, Deià and Calvià is in foreign hands

Who owns Mallorca? When almost every second home in Andratx, Deià and Calvià is in foreign hands

Brief survey

The figures for 2025 are not harmless: on the Balearic Islands more than 92,000 residential properties belong to individuals or holding companies based abroad. That corresponds to roughly 16 percent of all homes across the islands. In some municipalities — notably Andratx, Deià and Calvià — the share reaches markedly higher levels and in parts approaches half of all units, according to Almost every second property in the Balearic Islands in foreign hands – what does this mean for Mallorca?

Key question

Who does the housing market on Mallorca still represent: the people who work here and raise their children, or investors looking for short-term returns?

Critical analysis

When housing becomes an investment asset, neighbourhoods change slowly. Prices rise not because more people move to the island, despite a Population boom in the Balearic Islands: What does it mean for Mallorca? — but because buyers are willing to pay ever higher sums — often without local ties, often with the idea of using the property only temporarily or generating income through short-term rentals. For employees in hotels, gastronomy or construction this means: rental offers shrink, affordable purchase options are barely available. The result is longer commutes, extended travel to work and a tangible pressure on the communities that otherwise make up our villages.

What is missing from the public debate

Debates often revolve around tourism figures or short-term rental prices on the coast. Rarely is ownership structure discussed systematically: How many homes stand empty? How many are used as second homes? How many are held via corporate structures aimed at tax optimisation? Clear figures on the reduction of long-term rental housing are also lacking, even though reports warn that Balearic Islands: Rents to rise by an average of €400 in 2026 — who will pay the bill? — as is an honest accounting of the infrastructure costs that lost neighbourhoods incur — from the school to the small supermarket.

A scene from everyday life

Early in the morning in Port d'Andratx: the fisherman lands his catch, the bakery fills bread baskets, the tourist promenade is still quiet. Two houses down: signs reading "For sale" and stickers from real estate agencies. On the plaza a child plays with a ball; his mother talks about how she can hardly find a flat she could afford on a local wage. The street sounds — the clatter of market stalls, the rumble of the rubbish truck — combine with the sense that many of the pretty shutters are only sporadically opened at night because the owners live far away.

Concrete approaches to solutions

The answer cannot be prohibitionist policy alone. Several levers would make sense at once: first, a transparent register of vacant properties and a vacancy tax on permanently unused homes; second, stronger tax incentives and grants for owners who rent long-term to the local market; third, mandatory quotas for socially subsidised housing in new-build projects, especially in municipalities with high demand; fourth, stricter control of short-term rentals combined with a clear allocation of tourist taxes to municipal housing funds; fifth, a programme for employers to provide or subsidise housing for staff — particularly important for construction, care and hospitality workers.

How to tackle the situation locally

Municipalities like Andratx, Deià and Calvià should negotiate regional rules together with the Balearic government, rather than each community fighting market dynamics alone. Options include inter-municipal funds that buy land to secure long-term rents, or cooperative models in which residents acquire shared ownership. Information campaigns that make buyers aware of the effects of second homes can also help change expectations.

An objective conclusion

The numbers show: the ownership market is no longer an abstract field, it determines quality of everyday life. If foreign purchases of property continue to rise without accompanying measures, it will cost people their quality of life and fill island towns with ever more vacancies and holiday homes. To keep the island liveable requires more than appeals: a package of transparency, taxes, incentives and municipal planning can restore the balance between investor interests and the housing needs of the people who live here.

On Mallorca it's not just about tourist headlines. It's about whether a young family, an elderly stall seller in the market hall or a carpenter can still live near their work — and you feel that on street corners, at the bakery, at the school. Anyone who cares about the island has an interest in it being not only beautiful but still a home.