The choice is yours. A holiday home can be bucolic or blingy, quiet or hectic, easy-to-reach or hard-to-find — and on the Balearics, that means a choice between sister islands Menorca and Mallorca.
They may be a mere 20-minute flight from each other, but they are exact opposites. One is tiny, elegant, with oodles of unspoilt beauty; the other is larger, much more developed, and wealthy with a contemporary edge.
Interestingly, both islands’ holiday home markets have, to some extent, bucked the downward trend that characterises mainland Spain, where prices in the Costas are still far below their 2006 highs.
Menorca remains the less well-known of the two locations for Britons, but it is the one to choose for chic, unspoilt elegance.
Its 125 miles of coastline are truly uncrowded — there are just 90,000 Menorcans plus another 10,000 second-home owners — and few parts of the coast have any major developments.
It takes 90 minutes to travel the island on roads lined by dry-stone walls. Much of the inland region is sparsely populated, with occasional clusters of white-walled, pink-roofed fincas and the odd small settlement.
At the eastern edge of the island is its new capital, Mahon, with a modern, low-rise harbour. At Menorca’s western tip lies the old capital, Ciutadella, a well-preserved Moorish town centred on a handful of beautifully restored squares and a maze of quiet backstreets.
Busiest area on the whole island is its quaint but crowded harbour, where visitors mingle with local fishermen landing the catch for the restaurant tables that line the waterside.
Prices are down 15% to 25% on their 2006 highs, according to estate agent Engel & Voelkers. ‘Main buyers here are Spanish, followed by British and German, with increased interest from Swiss, Irish and Italians.
More than 50% of buyers are aged 40 to 50 and about 30% are 50-plus,’ says E&V’s Sebastian Boelger.
Rhona Hutchinson, of Integrated Relocation Spain, a buying agency that helps Britons purchase homes on the Balearics, says: ‘Prices have traditionally been lower on Menorca (than Mallorca) and continue to be so.
‘There are hotspots along the southern coast between S’Algar and Binidali where more upmarket properties have been built.
‘Construction on what is termed “rustico” land has long been restricted, but in the past eight years the law has changed and it is simply not allowed. The island is very quiet,’ she says.
Part of its appeal — but not always welcomed by second-home owners — is the difficulty in reaching Menorca in winter. Direct flights from the uK reduce significantly from October to March, and ferry services to the Spanish mainland are curtailed too.
There is no such problem with Mallorca, the much larger Balearic island with more than a hint of bling. It’s easy to get to year-round, and has a round-the-clock lifestyle.
‘As a destination, Mallorca continues to offer a sophisticated infrastructure and an array of modern facilities,’ says Georgina Richards, of Knight Frank.
Prices here, too, have fallen 20 per cent to 30per cent, but she says years of investment have paid off for the island, which is still improving its infrastructure.
‘The Port Adriano marina extension in the south-west will provide another super harbour, with even more moorings for yachts up to 60 metres in length.
‘The Spanish Airports Authority is investing £203m in Palma’s international airport to improve and expand facilities, with further investment planned for Palma’s private aerodrome at Son Bonet,’ she says.
Twenty airlines fly from Britain to Mallorca and, once there, its recently improved roads and decent railway service mean all five regions of the island are easily accessible.
One region is its capital, Palma, just 10 minutes from the airport and with pretty stone houses and apartments in the sought-after Cathedral Quarter.
The city has a burgeoning reputation for good shops and a busy nightlife. Many Britons prefer holiday homes here to more traditional coastal or mountain areas.
On the north-west coast, a 45-minute drive from the airport, once-tiny ports such as Soller have blossomed into handsome marinas. On the east coast — considered the best-value area for homes —there are unspoilt towns such as Arta and Capdepera.
Inland, the island is rugged and mountainous, but not as remote as it used to be. One-time quiet villages such as Alaro and Santa Maria are now fairly busy. This region is popular among selfbuilders of large homes.
The final Mallorcan area is the south-west, just 30 minutes from the airport, but infamous for the club haven of Magaluf and crowds of Britons troughing all-day english breakfasts. But the prettiest area here is Andratx, an attractive and increasingly affluent port.
There are now about 11,000 British-owned holiday homes on the island, including those of Andrew Lloyd Webber and former James Bond Pierce Brosnan. International celebs who have invested in homes on Mallorca include Antonio Banderas, Boris Becker, Claudia Schiffer and Michael Schumacher.
Jan Westwood, of The Property Finders on the island, says that on the lower-priced east coast you can get a two-bed apartment minutes from the beach for £119,000.
‘At the other end of the scale, a new waterfront villa at Cala D’Or in the south-east is on the market at £1.01m, having been steadily reduced from its asking price of £1.6m. Prices have reduced to the same level as the last quarter of 2006 and appear to have bottomed out,’ she says.
And on islands as diverse as Mallorca and Menorca there’s plenty of choice — whatever kind of home and whatever kind of lifestyle you’re after.To read the full article click here
