PP and Vox representatives in the Balearic Islands parliament this week voted down a proposal to limit property purchases by non-residents, the latest in a series of measures drawn up to try and combat market stresses on the archipelago.
Right-wing parties in the Balearic Islands parliament have voted down a proposal to limit property purchases for non-resident foreigners on the archipelago.
The centre-right Popular Party, along with far-right Vox, voted against the measure to temporarily limit the purchase of homes by non-residents in municipalities where local markets are declared ‘under pressure’, as well as preventing their acquisition by legal entities and another initiative calling for tougher taxes on luxury homes and multiple property owners.
For followers of politics on the islands, this would have come as no surprise. President of the Balearic Islands government and PP member, Marga Prohens, stated recently in Ibiza that it is “impossible” for the European Union to allow bans on purchases of housing by foreigners, at least EU citizens.
The proposal would have regulated in order so that in those municipalities where it was approved by an absolute majority, only individuals who had been residents of the Balearic Islands for at least three years and did not already own another home could purchase property, with the obligation to maintain effective residence for a decade.
Right-wing parties claim the measure would be ineffective and possibly illegal.
This is not the first time right-wing parties in Spain have come together to tumble proposals meant to limit foreign access to the Spanish property market, however, such as back in May 2025 when PP and Vox voted down an initiative brought forward in the Congress and Senate to limit foreigners buying property in both the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Hard-right Vox, however, has at times given mixed messaging on the issue. In November the party submitted a proposal in Congress to increase taxes for foreign property buyers in Spain, with the aim of using the money to give tax breaks for Spanish citizens and promote the construction of subsidised housing.
READ ALSO: Spain’s Vox proposes taxing foreigners more to give housing benefits to locals
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During Tuesday’s plenary session, Més per Mallorca spokesperson Lluís Apesteguia argued for the need to regulate purchases by non-residents not due to shortages but rather rampant speculation in the market: “We do not have a problem of scarcity, but rather one of use and speculation,” he said.
The Balearic Islands have been at the forefront of Spain’s volatile property market and the anti-tourism movement formed in reaction.
The archipelago leads Spain in terms of sales to foreigners. Thirty-eight percent of properties sold there between 2007 and 2025 were purchased by foreigners, according to recent data by Spain’s the General Council of Notaries.
Apesteguia also warned right-wing parties that “there will be no flags large enough to cover up the shame of those who vote against this bill today.”
“This is about how we use housing and whether those who buy it do so to live in it or to speculate,” he added, addressing the PP and Vox benches. “‘Perhaps your homeland is speculation and your compatriots are speculators.”
Vox and PP spokespersons questioned the legality and efficacy of the proposed measure.
During the debate, Vox spokesperson Manuela Cañadas argued that the bill does not solve the problem, but rather is “legally fragile, economically counterproductive and politically inconsistent with the defence of the national interest”.
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PP representative Margalida Pocoví criticised the “opportunism” of the proposal.
“We cannot support a proposal that is unconstitutional, contrary to European law, technically unfeasible, and which interferes with the freedom and rights of the residents of the Balearic Islands,” she asserted.
In the same session PP and Vox representatives also rejected another bill aimed at curbing property speculation through a so-called luxury tax. The measure proposed a gradual increase on taxes for large property transactions and for those who own several properties.
The Balearic Islands is the region with the highest number of properties in the hands of multi-property landlords in Spain, namely those who own more than a dozen properties: a total of 26,061 homes, representing 4.53 percent of the island’s total housing stock of 574,813 properties, according to research carried out by Spanish outlet El Diario using data from the Land Registry.
The data also shows that 6,672 homes on the islands belong to owners who possess more than 100 properties, 1.16 percent of the total.
The Balearic Islands are also the area of Spain with the highest concentration of luxury homes, with prices exceeding €1 million, and ultra-luxury homes, those priced above €3 million, according to data from Idealista published in August 2025.
READ MORE: Foreigners buy 4 in 10 properties in Spain’s Balearic Islands
