New Builds in Mallorca

Imagine it’s deepest February again. If you live in London, Dublin, Berlin or Copenhagen, you’ve probably have the luxury of just a few hours of precious daylight every day, reflects Peter Cluskey.

During this fleeting time you’re probably picking your way through the pouring rain – from home to work, from work to home – in a desperate effort to make it to your next holiday date with the sun. In the meantime, remember to keep taking the vitamin C tablets!

The thing about winter misery in the major cities of western Europe is that it’s very democratic. Unless you’re in the multi-millionaire bracket, you just grin and endure it. The packed 6.30 a.m. commuter train from the stockbroker belt of Tunbridge Wells can be every bit as unpleasant as the morning Tube from Wood Green in North London. Only difference is, if you live in Tunbridge Wells, it’s more likely you can plan your great escape more frequently.

Cut to February on Mallorca, sunny, temperate and relaxed. And imagine how it must appear to those “trapped by the wheels of industry” as the song used to put it, desperate to claim their place in the sun, and with the money to do it. It must look like heaven.

That’s why they’re queuing to claim their slice of paradise. And trouble-free, new-build apartments, are their preferred option.

“These are people who’re determined to find an alternative to the concrete jungles where they live and work”, says Adam Lewczynski, of London-based investment and development company, Pentagon Estates, which is currently building a luxury complex, at Puerto Andratx, called Las Milanas.

“If that’s what you’re used to for most of the year, it’s no surprise that when you buy a ‘lifestyle’ apartment or penthouse on Mallorca, you want the things you can’t usually have – a sea view and sunshine long into the evening, so that you can sip a drink and watch the sun set over the Mediterranean. “That’s what overseas buyers are searching for.”

With the sea view and the sunshine in situ, the next big requirement is discreet luxury, which the Mallorca property market is expert at providing.

Las Milanas, for instance, will have sea and mountain views, landscaped gardens and private pools, with two-bedroom apartments starting at €450,000 and a limited number of magnificent three-bedroom penthouses for €1.35 million. The plan is for a total of 65 apartments in three phases, with the first phase available for occupation from last month, and full occupation by summer, 2009.

Interestingly, estate agents reckon that more and more buyers are looking for apartments rather than villas, which were undoubtedly more sought-after in the past. It’s the old problem of maintenance. When you finally slip into shorts and T-shirt you don’t want to waste your time sorting out problems with gardeners or pool cleaners, do you? No, you want to switch immediately to ‘no-news, no-shoes’ mode and make the best of the time you have.

And where better to do that than in Bendinat, tucked between the mountains and the sea, just nine kilometres west of Palma and two kilometres from the very chic marina at Puerto Portals. Unspoiled, it’s bordered on its northern side by a natural park and it even has a royal seal of approval:

Honorary president of Real Bendinat Golf Course is none other than King Juan Carlos himself, which, does wonders for property values.

Andrew Spence of the Bendinat Group, which has a number of blue-chip projects around the perimeter of the golf course, makes no bones about it – the key here is “understated elegance.”

He explains: “All our projects have large pools and gardens as focal points. But there’s more to it than that. We choose top local architects, like Joan Manuel Bonnin, who specialize in matching traditional Mallorcan design to 21st-century European lifestyle requirements.

“Or take Sa Vinya, our latest development, where another well-known local architect, Georges Bretones, carries on the work of his mentor, François Spoerry, who designed The Anchorage, one of our earlier projects. That sort of local continuity and flair is important to us.”

Due to ever-tightening planning regulations, developers are finding it harder and harder to locate enough land for projects,

especially frontline ones. And that’s good news for buyers. Because if you have been lucky enough to find your own to-die-for view of the Med, the simple economics of supply and demand should do the rest and ensure equally attractive capital appreciation.

But frontline developments do come on the market now and again. Currently, Engel & Völkers has a development of two- and three-bedroom apartments under construction opposite the entrance to beautiful Porto Cristo in the north-east of the island, with prices starting from €585,000.

There are just six apartments and each has a large terrace with stunning sea views, a private elevator with direct access to the apartment, a hydro-massage bath, a fully equipped, Italianesque kitchen and two underground parking spaces. Plus, of course, there’s a generous-sized swimming pool.

Built into the cliffs near Puerto Andratx, is the Gran Folies complex by developers Espacio Inmobiliaria. Again, there are 129 apartments with stunning sea views and prices ranging from €320,000 for a 95-square-metre one-bed to €1.75 million for a three-bedroom penthouse. There’s nothing but the best in terms of finish, with everything from antique marble floors to Poggenpohl kitchens, and the development has indoor and outdoor pools, a spa and a beach house.

Developers admit that property prices in mainland Spain have been suffering due to massive over-development. However, according to Adam Lewczynski, of Pentagon Estates, Mallorca remains a solid, highly-desirable destination.

“We’re seeing English, German, Scandinavian and Polish buyers, followed by Mallorquins of course, and increasingly Spaniards from the mainland, wanting to escape from places like Madrid and Barcelona”, he says.

“Despite all the recent media hype about financial uncertainty, sub-prime mortgage woes and credit crunches, the period since the end of last summer has been extremely busy for us. There may be financial uncertainty elsewhere – but not on Mallorca.”