Are spain’s islands recovering first?

While most of us have endured three years of recession there are some places where the global downturn has barely touched the sides, and names like Knightsbridge, Montecarlo, Nice and The Hamptons all spring to mind.

The latest destination to be added to this lucky list are the Balearic islands and, in particularly, Mallorca, it is claimed. Property developer Ignacio Osle from Taylor Wimpey de Espana says that “over the past 12 months we have seen buyer interest in the Balearic Islands, especially Mallorca, rise steadily”.

Back on the mainland, until recently the holiday homes market was still on its knees but official figures show sales in Spain overall rose by nearly 6% during 2010 (compared to the previous year). The Balearic islands, on the other hand, enjoyed a house sales surge of 14.5%, helped no doubt by its celebrity residents including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, who call it home for half the year (and for the other half, Bermuda). Other stary residents include Annie Lennox, Claudia Schiffer and Bono, who discreetly fly on to the island to holiday every year in a variety of luxury properties.

These surprising growth figures should be taken in context. Both the Spanish and the Balearic property markets saw prices drop by up to 60% in some areas in 2008 as sales ground to a halt, particularly during late 2008 and early 2009, so any increase will look good in percentage terms.

Source: Find-a-Property.com