Speculation at any price
History repeats itself, and it usually features the same protagonists. When there's a housing shortage, the easiest answer is to open up new land, which is the solution the People's Party (PP) is now offering in the Balearic Islands. The recipe, in any case, is the same: develop rural land, rezone it all at once, without planning, and hand out astronomical profits to a few who have been waiting for years for the opportunity to line their pockets.
In the Transition Areas (TAs) surrounding cities, numerous developers and builders bought land designated as non-developable, at low prices, knowing that one day the winds would change. They have waited decades without investing a single euro, without agriculture or generating any productive activity. And now, with a political decision, these plots can multiply their value considerably. This isn't productive economics; it's speculation: making a lot of money without doing anything.
What the Land Law and common sense had tried to prevent is precisely that. Land cannot be transformed automatically. Urban planning processes exist to ensure that any growth serves the public interest: that there is sufficient water, infrastructure, adequate mobility, and service capacity. It is an important filter, forcing developers to invest, plan, and take risks. Suddenly rezoning, without this prior process, bypasses the very reason for urban planning: to bring order to the land and prevent the poor decisions that have already burdened generations. Furthermore, in municipalities like Palma and Calvià, to give two examples, there is developable land. Therefore, if the decision is made to expand onto rural land, the question is: why? And the answer can be as simple as it is worrying – because some have vested interests. And what benefits a few usually doesn't benefit everyone.
In the Balearic Islands, where land is finite, what we need is not more concrete but more sound judgment. Architects and urban planners have been calling for years for rehabilitation and densification within the city, for the utilization of vacant lots, and for the improvement of existing urban fabric. Uncontrolled expansion doesn't solve the housing problem; it perpetuates it. Prices have been rising for decades, and despite moratoriums, laws, and various plans, they've never fallen. Perhaps the real problem isn't land but land use: too many homes dedicated to tourism and exorbitant growth that creates constant demand. Meanwhile, programs like the safe rental scheme fail, and the market continues to reward speculation.
The case of the Llavanera stream in Ibiza is another example. One of the island's most dangerous areas, where flash floods have demonstrated their risks, is a coveted prize for wealthy people who want an apartment with an Ibizan touch. Despite warnings, warehouses and apartments are being built near the stream. The pressure from real estate capital is so strong that it bends the law and condemns the land. This is the model that traps us again, turning our land into a commodity for speculation. We need a productive economy, not rentiers waiting for the big rezoning.