Real Estate

Love Island boosts buyer interest in Majorca’s understated rural towns


As Love Island reaches its heady conclusion, the daily images of sun-drenched Majorca will soon be off our screens but this latest series has again focused on properties on the quieter eastern side of this favourite Mediterranean island.

For while the marinas in the south-west around Andratx attract wealthy yachties and the hotspots of Palma Beach and Magaluf are nirvana for party people, the east and the south-east in particular have largely hidden their considerable charms.

“The rural south-east is the most natural part of Majorca with small calas and beautiful countryside,” says Nils Haase of Engel & Völkers. “It is calm and understated. The season is shorter than some other areas, typically from Easter to October, but property values are about 25 to 50 per cent below the prime south-west.”

The south-east has two golf courses with another three to the north in Manacor and along with the lovely beaches and countryside there’s good sailing, cycling and horse riding. These make it a good summer holiday destination, especially with families who appreciate the safe, laid-back rhythm of daily life. 

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From £525,000: new-build villas with pools at Sa Ràpita near beautiful Es Trenc beach on the south coast (Engel & Völkers)

The infrastructure is improving, too. Currently it takes about 40 minutes to drive from Palma airport to the south-east but that will shorten next year when a new road extension opens. 

Second-home buyers focus around Santanyi, Alqueria Blanca and Ses Salines, where typical properties are country houses and beautiful stone farmhouses, or fincas. A village house on a small plot is £675,000 if renovated and £314,000 if not, while country houses start from £630,000. 

New-build beach homes

In Sa Ràpita close to Es Trenc where the sea is a Caribbean turquoise, Engel & Völkers has two projects of new-build villas with pools, priced from £525,000 for a four-bedroom property.

Villas at the larger project are priced from £735,000 and are being built built in three phases, with the nine villas of Phase One completed. Homes are open-plan, light and modern, some with roof terraces providing wonderful views to the sea and all with excellent storage space, pools, garages and small gardens.

Furniture packages start from £40,000 and purchasers are allowed to rent out their villas, although not for less than four weeks at a time for the first five years of ownership. These are comfortable, well-sized homes, finished to a high standard with Miele appliances in the kitchen and air conditioning and underfloor heating as standard, yet they’re also easy to lock and leave.

The £783,000 three-bedroom show villa at Sa Ràpita would be around £1.2 million if it were in Andratx in the south-west, estimates Nils Haase. “In general it is hard to compare properties in the two areas,” he says. “There are more fincas in the south-east with larger plots, more individual-style homes and much less bling.” 

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£4 million: a five-bedroom stone villa near Ses Salines that was featured in a previous series of Love Island

Love Island villa for sale

Close to Ses Salines, the most southerly part of the island, Engel & Völkers is selling a house with considerable bling. The five-bedroom contemporary stone villa with a show-stopping pool, vast windows and wide rural views starred in a previous Love Island series and comes with a celebrity £4 million price tag. 

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£350,000: a two-bedroom stone townhouse with garden in need of updating in Santanyi (Engel & Völkers)

Head to Santanyi for project buys

Santanyi is a beautifully kept and totally authentic Spanish town with narrow streets, small wooden shop fronts and charming cafés and restaurants. It’s the south-east’s most expensive village with townhouses reaching over £900,000 but there’s still value for buyers prepared to take on a project, with unrenovated terrace homes from £270,000.

In the centre of Santanyi close to the market square a 1,500sq ft townhouse in need of thoughtful updating and for sale at £350,000 would make an interesting project. Fully habitable it has two bedrooms, attractive exterior and interior exposed stone walls, traditional beamed ceilings and a small garden and could be extended.

Buying guide: good to know

  • Best beaches: when it comes to beaches, you’re spoilt for choice in this corner of Majorca. Es Trenc and Es Carbó are popular and beautiful choices  with good restaurants, while Cala Santanyi and Cala Llombards also have exceptionally clear water. 
  • Best markets: Wednesday and Saturday are market days in charming Santanyi.
  • Best for tradition: the inland village of Porreres, the centre of Majorca’s apricot production, has a lively central square always filled with locals meeting over a café con leche or something stronger.
  • Best for a waterfront lunches: a good place to start is Porto Petro where you can eat freshly caught fish at the harbourside before walking it off on the cliff path to Cala d’Or.



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