To buy a 100-square-meter home in Palma, you need a net monthly salary of 3,477 euros. This figure places the Balearic capital as the fifth city in Spain where more income is needed to access a flat through a mortgage and, once again, highlights the growing gap between the real estate market and the salaries of the resident population.

The Palma City Council has advocated for the forced eviction of the old prison, where about 80 people currently live, even though the Bishopric of Mallorca has requested it be done in stages, as reported by Europa Press. The spokesperson for Cort, Mercedes Celeste, referred to Bishop Sebastià Taltavull's request after the Governing Board meeting. Taltavull maintains that the residents' reception must be done in a "personalized" way and in small groups to offer specific attention. "We cannot receive 100 people en masse because we wouldn't know where to put them," said the bishop, who reiterated his willingness to collaborate in assisting those affected. Despite the request, Cort has approved the forced eviction "through direct compulsion on individuals." That is, there is the green light to remove residents using physical force.

A 70% of the 101 people living in the old Palma jail do not have access to social services or an alternative housing, according to statements made this Monday by the mayor Jaime Martínez. Despite Martínez assuring that access to social services depends on the "voluntariness" of the residents, he also pointed out that "there are people who cannot access social resources because there is a regulation" and that "people in irregular situations cannot access them." It was Martínez himself who emphasized that "70%" of the residents of the old jail "are in an irregular administrative situation."

Several people affected by deregistration have reported this Thursday at the Palma plenary that their situation leaves them without access to basic rights such as healthcare, voting, or marriage.

The Renewal of rental agreements at market prices will skyrocket in the Balearic Islands The income gap favoring landlords over tenants will widen. The Balearic Islands will be the autonomous community where the income difference between landlords and tenants will increase the most: an average of 5,667 euros, which will mean that landlords' income will rise to 66,385 euros, according to a report by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 released by Europa Press. Along with the Balearic Islands, but at a considerable distance, Ceuta leads the increases, with an average rise of 3,495 euros in the income gap; followed by the Valencian Community, with 3,009 euros; the Canary Islands, with 2,653 euros more; Cantabria, with another 2,610 euros; and the Community of Madrid, with another 2,406 euros. Overall, if contracts expiring in 2026 and 2027 are renewed at market prices, the income gap between landlords and tenants affected by the renewal would increase by an average of €2,216 across Spain, raising the average rent for those landlords to €546. The data in the Consum report was compiled from contracts signed in 2021 and 2022 that would expire five years later, in addition to the increase in rental prices during this period according to Idealista. The report excludes data from the Basque Country and Navarre, as they are autonomous communities with special tax regimes, as well as data from Catalonia, in order to include areas of high demand that encompass 80% of the population.

The price of a 90 square meter home is, on average, 250,000 euros more expensive in Palma than in Inca, according to the platform. pisos.comA study published this Wednesday by the Spanish Association of Housing and Landowners (AEB) analyzes price differences between provincial capitals and other municipalities. A 90-square-meter home has an average price of €477,463 in Palma, while similar homes in Inca average €223,517, practically half the price in Palma. At the national level, the most striking cases are concentrated in metropolitan areas. In the Community of Madrid, a 90-square-meter home costs €567,211 in the capital, a figure that contrasts sharply with €225,157 in Alcalá de Henares and €251,901 in Getafe. In Catalonia, a similar apartment in Barcelona averages €464,002, while in Badalona the price is €229,077 and in Hospitalet de Llobregat, €246,545.

The housing emergency in the Balearic Islands could worsen with the review of rental contracts expiring at the end of the year. According to figures from the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and Agenda 2030, island tenants whose contracts end then will face a rent increase of €4,615 per year. This increase adds to an already unsustainable situation for many families: the average rent in the Islands exceeds €1,500, the second highest in Spain after Barcelona. The perfect storm is compounded by the expiration of the state ban on evicting vulnerable families, which, if nothing is done, will end on December 31. This situation could affect 60,000 families, according to estimates published by the newspaper. The CountryThe moratorium on the ban on evicting vulnerable families was approved in December 2024 – this measure was applied during the pandemic.

Palma is the city in Spain where each room listed on the rental market generates the most interest, with 65 people vying to live there, according to the latest report from the real estate website Idealista. A significant figure is the national average, with 22 people vying for each room available for rent, far from the situation in the city. After Palma, the municipality with the most competition for room rentals is San Sebastián, with 62 interested people. Likewise, in 2024, a peak of 91 people vying for a room was reached in Palma. At the other end of the ranking are Córdoba, Salamanca, and Castellón, with nine people interested for each room listed for rent.

The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in Palma has warned that the theoretical limited-price housing to be built on municipal land will have "a premium rent of between €1,000 and €1,600, a far cry from the €600 to €1,000 announced by Mayor Jaime Martínez." The Socialists are making this complaint after the company awarded the only two lots calculated the final rents, including tenants' payment of property tax (IBI), garbage collection fees, and community fees, which can reach up to €233 per month, in addition to parking and storage.