Balearic property paradox: Sellers are demanding a third more than buyers are willing to pay – and transactions are collapsing

STRANGE things are happening in the usually-frenetic Balearic property market.

Asking prices reached a new record high in February, according to data from property portal Idealista.

But the headline figure conceals a more disturbing trend, as – despite seller optimism – completed home sale values have actually fallen year-on-year.

The stand-off between buyers and sellers has seen transactions collapsing at one of the fastest rates in Spain.

READ MORE: Costa Blanca property prices soar by average of 12.9% in first three months of 2026

According to Idealista’s February 2026 price index, sellers on the islands listed properties at an average of €5,228 per square metre, a 9.2% rise on the same month a year earlier and the highest asking price of any region in Spain.

But figures from the Centro de Información Estadística del Notariado (CIEN), which records all completed property transactions notarised across the country, tell a sharply different story. 

The price at which deals actually closed in the Balearics in February averaged €3,880 per square metre – surprisingly down 1.4% year-on-year. 

It means that sellers are listing at 34.7% above the price buyers are willing to pay.

READ MORE: Spain is trying to regulate its property market — but on the Costa del Sol the market isn’t listening

The gap between ask and completion – €1,348 per square metre – points to a market in standoff rather than growth.

Transaction volumes support the market gridlock. 

Completed sales fell 18.6% year-on-year in February, the second-steepest decline of any Spanish region, behind only the Canary Islands at 21%. 

Nearly one in five deals that existed a year ago has simply disappeared.

Apartments completed at an average of €3,631 per square metre. Detached properties averaged €4,390 per square metre.

READ MORE: Spain’s housing crisis is a ‘political choice’ to protect wealthy property owners at the expense of younger generations, claims top researcher

Mortgage lending for home purchases bucked the trend slightly, rising 4.5% year-on-year – one of only eight Spanish regions to record any growth. 

The average mortgage for a Balearic home purchase stood at €270,409. The buyers who remain active are still borrowing to do so. But there are far fewer of them.

The national picture provides context. 

Across Spain, completed sales fell 7.7% year-on-year in February, with an average completed transaction price of €1,977 per square metre, up 5.4%. 

The Balearics are falling harder and faster than the broader market.

Click here to read more Balearic Islands News from The Olive Press.