Area choice is, ultimately, the most important single factor in your Mallorca property search. If you end up with a good property in the wrong area you are unlikely to enjoy owning it. If you have a less good property in a great area you will probably have a good time. Obviously our objective is to find you a great property in exactly the right area, and to do that we need some help from you in telling us what it is you are looking for.
If you have been visiting Mallorca for years and know which area you like the most this is obviously not something you need to think too much about. If you are not so familiar with the island however you might be surprised by the variety Mallorca offers. Similarly there is quite some variety in the types of properties for sale in different locations in Mallorca.
The MPP area guide offers a good starting point. This is currently being updated but the current version already gives and overview of most of the main destinations. You can view this here Mallorca Property Partners Area Guide.
Beyond this, there are some basic criteria that will help you in your choice of area.
- Distance to airport: If you want to be within 20 minutes or so from the airport, the SW coast and surrounds of Palma de Mallorca are the places to look. Soller on the West Coast is accessible in just over 20 minutes or so as you can drive via the toll tunnel through the mountains. Pollensa and other sought-after North Coast locations are an easy 40 to 50 minute drive, as are most parts of the Southeast Coast. The Northeast Coast of Mallorca is a bit further – allow 50 minutes to just over an hour. The South Coast is reachable within 20 to 30 minutes but is not one of the main buying locations.
- Holiday or permanent: If you are buying to live permanently in Mallorca the criteria are generally different to those of a holiday home. You may need to be close to schools, will probably want to be reasonably close to a town, you might need to commute back to the UK every week in which case you will want to be reasonably close to the airport. Similar, sea views and being close to the beach may not be so important. It all depends on your individual preferences of course but the likelihood is that you will be looking for a more “residential” area i.e. one that is not solely focussed on catering for holiday makers. This is likely to open up the property choices in locations that are less expensive.
- Beach, mountains or countryside: The type of holiday you enjoy, and the type of landscape you enjoy having round you, are key criteria. Beach lovers should focus on great beach resorts e.g. Santa Ponsa in the Southwest of Mallorca, Puerto Pollensa and Alcudia in the North, many of the Northeast and East Coast resorts such as Porto Colom and Cala d’Or. The West Coast is mountainous and does not offer beach lovers much scope, but those looking for beautiful and dramatic scenery should focus on this area from the western tip of Mallorca up to Pollensa in the North. Beyond this there is beautiful countryside throughout Mallorca, although you will most likely want to be reasonable close to the coast rather than in the central plain which is more agricultural and can be humid in the summer.
- Busy or quiet / traditional or holiday-focussed: To some extent these criteria are directly related. If you are coming to Mallorca for beaches, bars, discos, partying and so on, then the beach resorts of the Southwest and East Coasts are the most likely choices. Resorts such as these (e.g. Magaluf, Palma Nova) are relatively contained within Mallorca though, so if you prefer beach of a quieter and less frenetic nature there are many choices in the beach areas mentioned above. If you prefer a more traditional setting and a real “slice of Mallorcan life” there are still many coastal villages and towns that offer this, as well as many beautiful country villages and small towns where agriculture and local industry takes precedence over tourism.
- Type of property: For great community development apartments and townhouses with communal pools and gardens, most options are in the Southwest around Santa Ponsa and El Toro, in the Southeast around Cala d’Or, and in the North around Puerto Pollensa. Such developments can be found in most areas though so there is plenty of choice. For newer coastal villas the Southwest, North and Southeast offer great choice, and the Northeast of Mallorca also has many options at more affordable price levels. If you prefer a more traditional country house style property then the North is probably you best option along with the countryside of Arta in the Northeast, Soller in the west and Santanyi in the Southeast.
- Distance to Palma: Some people wish to be close to Palma de Mallorca. If you want the widest selection of restaurants and night-life then this is sensible, although there are so many great restaurants and night sport throughout Mallorca that it is certainly not essential. Palma does however offer the widest variety of shops and other facilities such as cinemas. For journey times to Palma from different parts of the island refer to the first point above “Distance to airport”.
- Price and budget: This is obviously a fundamental point. Prices in Mallorca vary according to the region (North, South, East, west etc), according to the town, and according to the location within the town or surrounding countryside. This is too detailed a topic to cover here so please email us for advice on this, or fill in the Search Briefing Form (link below). You can also see more information on prices in the Mallorca Property Partners Area Guide (link above).
Hopefully these notes give you some guidance. But you will usually end up with more than one choice. If you would like to discuss areas in more detail please call or email us – there is no commitment! Or include notes on your preferences in the above respects in your search briefing and we will advise as to the best options : Mallorca Property Partners Search Briefing.
In addition to this, we recommend that you spend a bit of time travelling around the areas that you most like the sound of. If you allow a bit of time for this it can be part of your holiday. Or, if you are here to look specifically at properties, we can arrange a few initial property viewings in each area so you can see at first-hand the kind of property that is for sale in that location and within your budget.
Whichever of these applies, what we certainly recommend against is setting up lots of property viewings in advance of your visit without knowing the areas based solely by the estate agents photos and written details. Vary rarely will this give you enough information on which to base your area choice, and if you go chasing round the island frantically looking at every option in every area you will find you are getting worn out by driving round too much – remember, it gets hot in Mallorca and looking at properties can be tiring! You will be less likely to find the properties that will really be of interest, and less likely to make the right decisions as you will not really be getting to know the areas.
If you follow our guidance you will quickly discount the areas that you are not so keen on and focus on the one where you want to be. From there on MPP can look into all the property options available in that location and arrange viewings of the best candidates.
Further information
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