Chaos on Spanish islands as 45,000 new homes needed to avoid 'total collapse'

Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

A cluster of Spanish islands have been warned their public services with 'collapse' within the next five years if the housing crisis continues to worsen - resulting in calls for 45,000 new homes
The harrowing extent of Spain's housing crisis has been laid bare, as property developers warn thousands of new homes are needed over the next five years.
After Spain witnessed a record-breaking 94 million international visitors last year, anti-tourist sentiment has spread like wildfire across the nation - resulting in a string of disruptive protests. Thousands of fed-up locals have taken to the streets in recent months, armed with banners ordering Brits to 'go home.
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Many Spaniards argue soaring demand for holiday lets has worsened the rental market and is preventing them from getting on the property ladder. Other protests have focused on pressuring officials to reform the housing sector by slashing rent prices in popular hotspots by 50 per cent and allowing locals to sign long-term rental contracts so they can 'build a life' without the threat of being evicted.
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This issue is particularly rife on the Balearic Islands - especially Majorca, which is rife with holiday rentals and second-home owners. Here, it is believed that, in the third quarter of 2023, overseas buyers accounted for 31.93 per cent of property purchases - while former housing Minister Marta Vidal previously revealed there was a staggering 235,000 illegal holiday lets operating in the Balearics the same year.
Locals have even claimed they've been physically approached by property poachers who have come knocking on the door to see whether they'll sell their homes to foreign buyers. One man living in Palma, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he was recently confronted by two 'well-dressed' men who wanted to speak with his landlord about buying the apartment outright.
"When they insisted on asking for the contact information of the owner, I refused to give them it," the man said. "They confirmed that there was a lot of demand for homes, but from foreign clients."
Now, Joaquín Chinchilla, president of a property developer association named APROVIBA, which operates across Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, has warned that 45,000 properties will need to be built by 2029 to avoid a 'total collapse of public services'. The boss argues that the islands currently face a deficit of around 18,000 properties - which will only worsen as Spain's ageing workforce starts to retire.
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"We're facing a serious illness that's going to get worse," Joaquín told Spanish media. "There are already doctors, police officers and Guardia Civil who are refusing to come to the Balearics because rent costs more than their salary... Many professionals will retire during this period and will need to be replaced by people who will have to come from outside, but there's no housing to accommodate them."
However, plans to curb the issue have already been unveiled - with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez proposing to increase housing investment and hit foreign property owners with hefty taxes. Already, around 1,000 properties are currently in construction in Manacor, Calvià and Palma and will be aimed at working families, reasonably priced between €119,000 and €220,000 (£101,000-£187,000).
"We're asking for solutions, not more diagnoses," Joaquín added. "The situation is very serious and we're running late, but we're still in time to solve it if we act with courage."