South West Mallorca

The popular coastal stretch between Palma and San Telmo has a well developed infrastructure and whilst visitor numbers swell in the summer, it doesn’t shut down in the winter months. The municipality of Calvia has a resident population of 50,363, 36.6% of whom are foreigners. The majority are from other EU countries, predominantly UK, Germany, Italy, France and Bulgaria.

Why buy property in South West Mallorca?

• All year round life
• Best developed infrastructure eg. marinas & golf courses
• Close proximity to Palma city & international schools
• Easy access to beaches, shopping & restaurants

What you should know about property in South West Mallorca

• The best front line locations were taken in the late 1970s and early 1980s, so many of the prime spots are occupied by properties from this era. Off plan property is in very short supply
• The South West gives the widest & most sophisticated choice of architecture, especially within apartment communities, from Moorish Mediterrranean to rustic style to contemporary
• Prices are highest on the island. You pay a premium for sea views which can add more than 20% to the price. Front line properties command extra, whilst water access takes you to another price level altogether
• Generally, the closer you get to the coast, the smaller the plot size, as little as 800 square metres for detached properties in recent urbanisations, with 4 metres boundary separation
• Check statutes carefully when buying in a community of owners
• Ensure you are informed on rental regulations
• Make legal checks with the coastal authorities on any frontline property

Properties in South West Mallorca

Bendinat A residential area which developed close to the Royal Bendinat golf course, there are a number of apartment communities here which are just minutes from Puerto Portals marina & a short drive into Palma city.  Old Bendinat is a prestigious corner & traditionally targeted by wealthy spaniards from Barcelona & Madrid. The gentle incline ensures properties have sea views but there are only 16 front line plots here, either side of the Bendinat Hotel, 13 of which are under 1000 square metres.

Costa de’n Blanes This urbanisation sprawls over the hillside directly overlooking Puerto Portals so the majority of villas have sea views. Costa de’n Blanes means “the Blanes coast” & literally refers to the family which once owned the land. It’s a convenient 8 km into Palma. Lower plots can suffer from motorway noise.  There are a considerable number of 1980s built, classic, renovated, family villas for sale here asking €900,000+

Puerto Portals The most fashionable marina in Mallorca, Puerto Portals was inaugurated in 1986. All the apartment complexes surrounding the port were built between 1970 and 1994, so they are 20 to 44 years old. However, they are popular for their superb sea views & rentability as they have easy or direct access to the marina, beach, bars & restaurants. Portals Nous village close by supplies every other facility from pharmacy to well stocked supermarket, and is a hive of activity all year round.

Investment in the port itself has slowed in the past 5 years due to the debate on the length of concessions which according to deed owners is 2032 but according to the government is 2018.

Just 3 minutes drive west from the port is the Mardavall community, finished in 1999. Adjacent to the 5 star St Regis Mardavall hotel, it’s a very high quality development with 24 hour security & extensive gardens on a 35,500 sq metre site. There are only 3 front line blocks, which offer superb sea views, whilst the other 3 blocks are 200 metres from the shore. There are no other front line plots for development available.

Sol de Mallorca A peaceful residential area, Sol de Mallorca lies above the exquisite, turquoise cala of Portals Vells which you can reach on foot. It comprises 3 inlets, one of which is still known today as El Mago (The Magician) after the film of the same name shot there in 1967 starring Anthony Quinn & Candice Bergen.

Opposite the tiny marina is a cliff face with 3 man made caves. This is where massive blocks of stone were taken by King Jaime II in the 14th century & transported by barge to build Palma cathedral. The approach road currently skirts Magalluf but provision has been made for a road to cut across land from the Poniente golf course when government funds allow.

Front line properties have the best sea views since the area is relatively flat. It is also particularly secure – well known residents include the sister of King Juan Carlos.

Cala Vinyes There’s dense development surrounding the beach & high rise 1970s hotels but in the hills are the signs of new build villas, with many plots for sale. A small corner of Cala Vinyes blends into the protected area of Cala Falco & there are some top end villas here, notably the gull wing designs of the Argentinian architect Alberto Rubio.

El Toro El Toro overlooks Port Adriano which has been redeveloped and extended to create a superyacht marina. The €80m project by Ocibar, a local company controlled by Banca March and the Zaforteza family, has provided 33 extra berths on its new breakwater quay. The designer Phillipe Starck led the team in the design of the service areas and shoreside facilities which encompass 4,000 sq metres. Berths are available for sale as long-term concessions until 2037. Apart from the older apartment blocks which tower above the port, only 54 front line properties have sea views as the area is flat. Plots are also very small, typically 700-800 sq metres and only a handful of villas sit on double plots.

Santa Ponsa Detached properties can be found in the established areas of Santa Ponsa such as the ensaimada, named after the spiral shape of the typical Mallorquin pastry. The road curves upwards and upwards with ever improving sea views. You can pay 500,000 Euros more for a detached, south facing villa with views to Port Adriano than a north facing property with views to Santa Ponsa bay. The beach is a large strip of white sand separated by pine woods from the promenade. It offers all the usual tourist fare with pedaloes & jet ski hire. Hotels are restricted almost entirely to the north side of the bay.

Nova Santa Ponsa offers a wide choice of properties within a multitude of complexes. The trend in recent years has been to mix detached & semi detached villas together with apartments in the same community. The area is fairly flat so communities often have larger gardens & pools. They are all reasonably close to the golf courses & country club, as well as Port Adriano.

Camp de Mar On the seaward side of the Andratx golf club, Es Salinar lies on the western edge of Camp de Mar bay. Frontline positions are taken almost entirely by Pedro Otzoup apartment communities whose Moorish-Mediterranean 1980s architecture is still popular today. There are only 4 roads above the seafront with detached villas, topped by the Andritxol estate, formerly owned by Claudia Schiffer. Surrounding the golf club are a number of tight, mixed complexes of town houses & apartments by well known developers, including Taylor Woodrow. The eastern edge of the bay boasts a line of grand, seaview villas with some prestigious properties dotted over the hill.

Property in Rural South West Mallorca

Calvia A workaday village with a Monday street market, Calvia offers a mixture of stone cottages & more recent builds. Dotted around the village in the countryside are lots of smallholdings & fincas.

Son Font A private, rural estate high above Calvia, plots are a minimum size of 4,000 square metres. Many of the properties have stunning, panoramic views to Palma bay, yet you are only 8 minutes from the coast.

Capdella Capdella is in the heart of the rural SW, with excellent, fast road connections to the coast yet untouched by tourism. It boasts 3 restaurants & an olympic sized public pool, all for 1000 residents.  To the north is the beautiful valley of Son Claret. Its manor house has recently been converted into a five star luxury hotel with Michelin Star restaurant.

Galilea In the extreme southern Tramuntana, Galilea is a sleepy, south facing village with wonderful, distant sea views to the bay of Palma. There are no facilities at all & the nearest village is 8 minutes drive by winding road.

Andratx The village of Andratx is a grid like affair with a small, central square. The majority of houses in the centre are terraced with little or no outside space apart from a roof terrace. Parking may be an issue. Just a few minutes’ west is S’Arraco, a delightful hamlet of rustic properties.

South West Mallorca in 2015

In February 2012, the underwater electricity cable stretching 237 km from Movedra in Valencia on the mainland to a new sub station in Santa Ponsa finally came into operation. The Romulus project cost €375m and is the first of its kind in Spain. The new link will supply 25% of the island’s demand for power and will act as a back-up in case of power outages as well as cutting carbon emissions by 1.2 tons annually.

Mallorca’s casino in Sol de Mallorca, Calvia moved to the Porto Pi centre in Palma. The existing cinema complex, which was the first of its kind on the island, has been refurbished, together with adjacent premises of 3,000 sq metres, providing gaming rooms, restaurant and live entertainment facilities.

Scheduled for completion in 2016, Kameha Bay Portals has recently been admitted by the Leading Hotels of the World into its exclusive hotel association. The exclusive development, a design concept by Marcel Wanders, stands next to the beach at Playa Cala Portals. Currently planned are 64 rooms and suites between 36 and 240 square metres. On offer will be spa treatments, holistic programs and water sports.

Plans for 6 new marinas including San Telmo and Palmanova have been presented to the Balearic government though it will likely only consider those which have sustainable business models.

Property prices in SW Mallorca

• As anywhere in the world, property prices in South West Mallorca are dictated by a very large number of factors but primarily by supply. In the second home market, vendor motivation is also important especially in the current economic climate
• Disregard general press reports on pricing in Spain. Mallorca is 3,640 square kilometres (1,400 square miles) which is twice the area of Greater London with its 32 boroughs. It is half the size of the entire municipality of Stockholm and nearly 5 times the size of New York City. Therefore, prices can vary for the same type of property depending on exact location on the island