Your Dream Home AwaitsDiscover the Charm of Puerto Pollensa

Seafront apartments

The apartments along the Passeig Voramar and the bay front are the most sought-after property in the town, and the most limited in supply. Proximity to the water is the main variable in price, followed by whether the property actually has a sea view or merely sits near one.

Many of these buildings date from the town’s first period of tourist development, which means solid construction but, in some cases, communal installations that have not been renewed. The state of the building as a whole matters as much as the state of the flat.

• Ask for the community accounts and any planned works before committing.
• A sea view and a sea-front position are not the same thing, and are not priced the same.
• Supply is thin: properties here rarely stay on the market long.

Villas with pools

Detached houses on their own plots, generally away from the centre — on the hillside, out towards the peninsula, or on the flat land south of the town. Privacy, outdoor space and usually a pool, in exchange for depending on a car for everything.

Plot size and orientation matter here more than square metres of house. Afternoon sun, shelter from the tramuntana wind, and how the land sits relative to the neighbours will affect daily life more than an extra bedroom.

• Check the access road, particularly in winter.
• Pool maintenance and garden upkeep are ongoing costs worth quantifying.
• Confirm that all construction on the plot is legally registered.

Town houses in Pollença

Pollença town offers a different proposition: stone houses in a lived-in town, built around a square, with the Calvari steps climbing to the chapel above and a Sunday market that has been running for generations.

It is quieter than the port and, crucially, it is inhabited year round rather than seasonally. For anyone considering permanent or long-term residence rather than a summer property, that difference is the main argument.

Older stone houses can be beautiful and can also be expensive to bring up to modern standards. Renovation in a historic centre may carry restrictions.

• Six kilometres from the sea.
• Open and populated through the winter.
• Check what renovation is permitted before buying to reform.

Buying as a non-resident

Non-residents can buy property in Spain without restriction, but the process has steps that are worth knowing in advance. You will need an NIE (foreigner identification number), a Spanish bank account in practice, and a nota simple from the land registry confirming ownership and any charges on the property.

The standard route is an independent lawyer — independent meaning not the one suggested by the seller or the agency — plus a surveyor for anything older or structurally uncertain. Purchase costs beyond the price itself typically run to around ten per cent, covering transfer tax, notary and registry fees.

• NIE and a nota simple are the starting points.
• Budget roughly 10% above the purchase price for taxes and fees.
• Use a lawyer with no connection to the seller.

What shapes prices here

Three factors do most of the work. The first is geography: the town is hemmed in between the bay and the mountains, so there is a finite amount of land and no realistic prospect of that changing.

The second is protection. The Serra de Tramuntana holds UNESCO World Heritage status as a cultural landscape, and planning in and around it is correspondingly restricted. What exists is largely what there will be.

The third is who buys here. This is an established destination with decades of returning northern European visitors, many of whom buy after years of holidaying. That produces a market driven more by long-term attachment than by speculation, which tends to mean slower turnover and firmer prices.

Within the town, the gradient is steep and predictable: seafront commands the most, a street back noticeably less, and the difference between a sea view and a partial sea view is real money.

• Limited buildable land, permanently.
• UNESCO protection over the adjacent mountain range.
• Distance to the water is the dominant price variable.

Living here year round

Anyone considering a permanent move rather than a summer property should see the place in January. The port is markedly quieter: a proportion of the restaurants and shops close, the beach is empty, and the population drops.

That is not necessarily a drawback — the walking is excellent, the cycling is at its best, and the mountains are at their most dramatic — but it is a different town from the one visited in August. Pollença town, six kilometres inland, stays open and populated through the winter, which is why some buyers who intend to live here choose it over the port.

Practical matters worth checking: distance to a health centre, which schools serve the area if that applies, and how the property behaves in winter. Older stone houses can be cold and damp without proper heating.

• Visit in winter before committing to a permanent move.
• Pollença town remains active year round; the port partially closes.
• Check heating and insulation in older properties.

The costs after buying

The purchase price is the beginning. Ongoing costs worth budgeting for:

IBI, the annual municipal property tax, calculated on the cadastral value. Community fees for any property in a building or development, which vary enormously depending on whether there is a pool, a lift or gardens to maintain. Rubbish collection, billed separately by the town hall.

Non-resident owners also face an annual non-resident income tax declaration, payable even when the property is not let — calculated on an imputed rental value. If the property is let, the obligations are more involved and quarterly.

Add to that insurance, utility standing charges, and maintenance — pools and gardens in this climate need constant attention, and salt air is hard on exterior fittings near the sea.

• IBI, community fees and rubbish collection are annual fixtures.
• Non-residents declare income tax even without letting.
• Coastal properties need more exterior maintenance.
• Get the community fee figure in writing before buying.

Tourist rental licences

This is the single most common misunderstanding among buyers here. A tourist rental licence — the permission to let a property to holidaymakers — is restricted, limited in number, and attached to the property rather than automatically available to any owner who wants one.

If the intention is to let the property when you are not using it, the existence and validity of a licence must be confirmed in writing before purchase. Buying on the assumption that a licence can be obtained afterwards is a serious risk: in much of the Balearics, new licences are simply not being issued.

• Ask for the licence number and verify it independently.
• Licences attach to the property, not the owner.
• Penalties for unlicensed tourist letting are substantial.