Welcome to our Blog!

This is a new addition for Shortcuts, one we hope will be interesting to visitors to www.shortcutspropertysearch.com and we encourage your comment and feedback.  We will be covering various topics on a regular basis, not just about property search and homefinding, but lifestyle in Spain, new developments in the property market, relocation, interesting local customs and news items – your ideas welcomed too!

Keep coming back and visiting us, we look forward to hearing from you.

Property search unearths village house with lush secret garden in Mallorca

Although Shortcuts Property Search are not estate agents and have no properties to sell, we are sometimes asked by former property search clients if we can offer marketing support for their properties using our PR and media activity. We are usually more than happy to help – especially as they are all in outstanding locations and of a high standard.

One such property is this lovely and private village house just ten minutes from Palma.  The price has recently been reduced to €1.2m for a quick sale so call or email us to find out more or to view it.  Briefly, the house is set in 3.69 acres of gorgeous and well cared for lush gardens and was recently featured in Country Life magazine.  There are several areas designed to offer sunshine or shade, with water features and swimming pool.

The house would be perfect as a holiday home or to live in permanently as everyting in the village stays open all year.

It has a large kitchen, sitting room with dining area, which leads to a shady dining terrace, three ensuite bedrooms and an office / bedroom on the ground level, and a one bedroom self contained apartment above with a roof terrace with fantastic 360 degree views of the mountains and sea.

The tranquil village of Genova has several very good restaurants, a bakery, food stores and cafes all within a few minutes easy stroll and offers a Spanish lifestyle and experience in a cosmopolitan and eclectic environment.  Excellent international schools nearby and easy access to the road network connecting the village to the rest of the island.

Spain still offers the best variety for golf properties in the Mediterranean

This recent article published by the PGA underlines what many people already know – Spain is one of the best places for golfers and offers the widest choice of golf courses and property.

You can read the article in full here:   http://www.pgatour.com/2011/tourlife/travel/05/04/trans-atlantic/

Shortcuts Property Search can find you your perfect property on or near a golf course, and save you time and money in the process.  Contact John for mainland Spain or Jan for the Balearics and we will happily talk to you about where and what you are looking for.

Some recommendations for Mallorca this summer

I’ve been looking through the papers from the last month and found this article n The Guardian Travel section which might be useful if you are planning on visiting Mallorca – or the Balearic islands – this summer:  What’s new in Mallorca

It’s all good news for buying property in Mallorca!

Where to start with this post?  I have been reading and listening to as many reports, news items and comments as I can about the property market in Mallorca over the last couple of weeks and am delighted that there is plenty of good news to report for this summary.

Access to the island has always been excellent, especially from the UK, but this summer it will be even better with more flights announced from several airlines including: www.ba.com   www.easyjet.com   www.easternairways.com   www.monarch.co.uk    www.ryanair.com   and  www.aerlingus.com.
Will this lead to even more competitive pricing?!  Certainly choice of airports and flight times will be significantly improved.

According to one major holiday rental company, inquiries for rental bookings have risen by 39%, good news for both owners of property here and potential buyers looking to earn an income from renting.

Property website www.kyero.com carried out a survey which showed Mallorca as the favourite spot for property buyers, accounting for 51% of all property enquiries.

In another survey by www.exceltur.org, Palma de Mallorca was voted one of the top five leading towns for travel and tourism in Spain.

And with over 500 cruise ships visiting Palma per year, bringing 1.3 million passengers to the island, the port authorities are spending €28 million on new berths to accommodate the five biggest cruise ships to meet the growing demand.

Shortcuts Property Search is also experiencing a growing number of property search inquiries and relocation, for all over Mallorca and parts of mainland Spain, especially Barcelona, so we are expecting a busy summer.

We are also encouraged by the release of some excellent new developments around the island, offering great value for money at prices from €200,000.  Email me for more information.

Shortcuts make the selling process easier too

Since we set up Shortcuts back in 2003, we have found property for many clients, some of whom are now wanting to sell in order to move on to other properties or places.  We have been asked several times to help do this, exactly as we do in the property finding process.

Having tested this concept successfully last year, we are now making it part of the regular Shortcuts service.  So, we offer a service whereby we help our clients select the most appropriate estate agents, and liaise with all relevant parties throughout the whole process to ensure a smooth and hassle free sale.

This does not mean we are now one of the so called homefinders who also sell property, we are simply acting as marketing consultants for clients who want the same high level of service selling their property as they enjoyed when they bought it and of course to save them time and hassle.

We will publish the individual property details and photos in a separate post on our blog in due course, but for the moment we have clients with a frontline villa in Nova Santa Ponsa, close to the expanding marina of Port Adriano, on the market for €1.4m (£1,210,000 on  www.worldfirst.com as I write).  This is the view:

Another property is a large house in the charming village of Genova, with lush gardens and sea views and a separate guest apartment.  It is on the market for €1,395,000 (£1,200,000 on www.worldfirst.com)

Please let me know if you would like any further information about either of these properties, or more about the service and how we might help you.

Shortcuts getting social

Having resisted, or perhaps not completely understanding or seeing the relevance of Facebook and Twitter, Shortcuts are now testing the water in the social media puddle.

I will continue this blog, which will focus on a general assortment of what’s new in the property market in Spain, living in Mallorca and information that might be useful to anyone searching for or thinking about buying a property in Spain.

Currently the Shortcuts Facebook page Shortcuts Property Search is in its very early stages, but I plan on expanding that over the next week.  Please do ‘like’ it to help me establish it and feel free to make any comments there.  If you are so inclined, my personal Facebook page is Jan Pratt and my knitting page is One Fit Knits!

And there’s more!  You can also now follow me on Twitter: @palmajan – there is a link on the website www.shortcutspropertysearch.com too.  I tweet my thoughts on living in Mallorca, relevant property issues and whatever I see that might be of interest.  And occasionally knitting.

I am fairly new to this but hope to make this a more frequent and important part of our communication.  All your thoughts are very welcome, by any means you prefer, especially suggestions as to how we can improve our service or communication.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Latest news from Palma de Mallorca

As a resident of the lovely old city of Palma, I have been watching the construction of the new congress centre with great interest.  I see it every morning as I go by on my daily walk to Portixol and to be honest, there hasn’t been much in the way of visible action for some time.  So I am very pleased that a recent announcement in the local media assures us that bookings are being taken for major conferences and events for 2012, and it will open at the end of this year.

This will be a huge boost for the city, undoubtedly bringing many new visitors from around the world.  It should have a positive impact on property prices in Palma and Portixol  too, so we’ll be ready for buyers searching for their ideal holiday apartment or home in the city!

Another exciting possibility for Palma is bubbling away too: discussions to launch Formula One racing track on the outskirts continue with Bernie Ecclestone, and funding from backers is already being sought.  We wait and see!

On the subject of sport, my yachtie friends are thrilled that the prestigious Global Ocean Race will set off from Palma in September this year on a 30,000 nautical mile race around the world.  Competitors will sail via South Africa, New Zealand, Uruguay and USA before finishing here in May / June 2012.

New development of apartments for sale in Mallorca with direct sea access

There have been almost no brand new developments on the island for several years now, so we’re very happy to hear that plans have been released from a well known building company of a complex of 25 high quality apartments with direct access to a lovely sandy beach. 

Prices start at €199,500 (£169,000 at the time of writing, according to www.worldfirst.com) for a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment.  Ground floor properties have terraces and private gardens, whilst top floor apartments have private roof terraces.  All have air con/heating, double glazing, private parking and quality fixtures and fittings.  The apartments will be surrounded by landscaped gardens and have a communal swimming pool. 

Completion and final payment is due November 2012.  We have all available prices and information so if you would like to know more, email us at info@shortcutspropertysearch.com

A great find for gifts and home accessories

I came across Ramona, the owner of the shop http://www.interiorhousemallorca.com/ in December at a Christmas Fair, selling really unusual and stylish decorations.  Having bought some Christmas gifts, I returned last week to see the shop in Costa D’en Blanes and the whole range that Ramona has to offer.  I’m so glad I did, this is now my current favourite shop for individual gifts and beautiful home accessories.

They also stock my favourite Compagnie de Provence products, and gorgeous scented candles, and have some fabulous outdoor furniture.  Ramona will also visit your house and offer a complete interior design advice and styling service if you are too busy to arrange everything yourself.  A great find for any holiday home owner on Mallorca.

18% rise in home sales in the Balearics

According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin yesterday, property sales in the Balearics rose by 18% last year.  http://www.majorcadailybulletin.es/first.dba?3349+1+27449

We at Shortcuts Property Search can also report  that in the last few months we have received an increase in inquiries and new clients from UK clients wanting us to search for their holiday home.  Barcelona too is steadily gaining more and more clients for our homefinder service there, especially since the increase in the number of flights to the region.