Report by the valuation company, Cohispania

House prices in Menorca set to increase by 7.68% this year

Es Mercadal. Second-dearest house prices in the Balearics

Es Mercadal and Sant Lluís are the second and third most expensive areas in the Balearic Islands for house prices, only exceeded by Calvià in Mallorca

C.M.W..Maó

The municipal districts of Es Mercadal and Sant Lluís have seen house prices rise to a level that puts the two areas amongst the most expensive in the Balearic Islands, only Calvià in Mallorca having property that is more expensive. This information comes from a report issued by Cohispania which quotes the price per square metre in Es Mercadal as 2,751 euros and that in Sant Lluís as 2,651 euros.

In Calvià, the most expensive area for houses in the islands, the cost is slightly higher, at 2,782 euros, whilst house purchasers would have to pay 2,516 euros in Maó and 2,482 in Ciutadella. The least expensive area for houses in Menorca is Es Castell where the cost per square metre is 2,043 euros, with Alaior near the centre of the island table at 2,379 euros. No details for prices in Es Migjorn Gran are given in the report.

Cohispania, the valuation company officially approved by the Banco de España, predicts that house prices in the Balearic Islands will rise by an average 6.24% this year, whilst in Menorca the increase will be even greater, estimated at 7.68%, followed by Ibiza at 6.54%.

The report predicts a decrease in the number of houses built in the Balearics. Whilst property prices increased by an average 8.88% in 2005, this year´s estimated rise is over 2% less.

The drop in house sales has been most noticeable in the inland villages in Mallorca, such as Sa Pobla, and in coastal areas of Ibiza, such as Sant Antoni de Portmany which have seen sales fall by almost 50%.

Son Servera (1,546 euros per sq.m.) and Artà (1,493) are the cheapest areas in the Islands.