Housing prices, tourist saturation, and rising temperatures are pushing Mallorcans to seek a new life in regions such as Asturias and Galicia. A growing trend told firsthand by the protagonists of this resident exodus.
“If three years ago you told me I’d want to leave Mallorca, I would’ve said: You’re completely insane!” So confesses one of the protagonists of this report, in which Mallorca Global Mag focuses on the discreet but steady exodus of Mallorcans to the northwest of the peninsula. A growing trend among residents who long for that “island of calm” praised by Santiago Rusiñol, and who now find their new paradise in regions such as Asturias and Galicia.
A Change for the Better
“I sold a 50-square-meter apartment in La Soledad, a 4th floor with no elevator in an old building with neighborhood problems. With the money I got, I bought a two-story house in the countryside, with a garden, no neighbors, and views of the river and mountains,” says Narciso Marcos, a 48-year-old Mallorcan, who started a new life in Mieres, Asturias, just two months ago. “It’s a change for the better,” he concludes.
Narciso Marcos.
The reasons for packing up, as this graphic designer from Palma explains, range from personal to social. “I consider myself privileged—I had my own place—but thinking about the future, I believe things will get very tough in Mallorca. When you walk around Palma and see how everything has become so expensive… I grew up there, and it used to be like this, you could live well, but now I doubt the situation will improve. The island is very touristy, overcrowded, and lacks industry. Everything will get more expensive and precarious, so I don’t plan on going back.”
Even though both his family and friends told him, “How can you leave alone?” he insists: “I’m not worried about being alone, I’m worried about work and making a living. This place is paradise. I hadn’t gone to the beach for years—except during the pandemic, because there was no one. Now I’m starting to meet people and build a new circle. At a certain age, you prefer peace.”
Another Mallorcan!
Narciso’s fresh start hasn’t been without surprises. “Once I got here, people told me: Oh God, another Mallorcan coming to Asturias!” he says. “Almost every real estate agency I’ve dealt with told me they’d shown a property to another islander just last week.” This trend is also confirmed by the moving company that handled his relocation, Mudanzas Suñer.
José Luis Silvente, a logistics worker at the company, highlights the growing number of moves from Mallorca to northern Spain. “Last year we did more trips than in the previous three years combined. 70% go to Asturias and Cantabria, then comes Galicia.” His company, one of the busiest in the archipelago, also operates in other areas like Guadalajara or Extremadura, but he emphasizes: “The demand in Asturias is incredible; it’s a shift that caught our attention.”
They transport the ‘life’ of Mallorca residents in 45-meter trucks with 180 cubic meters of space, but “for every four we take there, we barely fill one for the return trip.” Their clients share a common problem: housing costs. “Most say they’re leaving because rent here has become impossible, same with buying a home, and no one is fixing it.”
The North Smells Like Es Trenc
Marta Piña receives visits from friends and family in Galicia.
Marta Piña, another Mallorcan, has settled in Galicia. Although when her husband suggested looking for a second home in the north, her reaction was: “No way!” Today, at 56, she admits: “We made a mistake. We sold the island. Mallorcans can’t live in their own land, and we’ve done a disservice to future generations.”
In her new chapter in Galicia, she has found “a Mallorca from 40 years ago. There are also wonderful beaches here—we’ve found some that smell just like Es Trenc when I was little. I love the beach, and it’s been a decade since I could go to the ones I like.”
But what’s truly won her over is the northern people: “They’re wonderful and very kind. When you ask how to get somewhere, they walk you there. You go into a bar and don’t want to leave—you walk out with potatoes, onions, lettuce… Like Mallorca used to be.”
They bought a “very large” house with land in Monterroso for 50,000 euros and a beach apartment for 100,000. “Of the 18 units in my complex, 5 were bought by Mallorcans. But prices are rising fast—now they’re going for 150,000.”
Even her daughter, who at first didn’t understand what they saw in the place, has changed her mind. Local agencies already note that many Mallorcans—and also foreigners—are buying property. “There’s one Mallorcan who bought 31 homes.”
“Don’t Let Them Come!”
Some northern real estate agencies are expressing concern: “Don’t let them come! We don’t want this to become Mallorca. We know it’s very hot there, but I’m from Asturias and I’m scared. I’ve always taken my kids to a cove, and last year I couldn’t even go swimming,” says the manager of a local agency, who prefers to remain anonymous.
Elvira Fafián, head of Aldeas Abandonadas, a real estate agency specializing in rural properties, comments: “Many people from Mallorca are arriving—young people, couples, retirees, families with high social status. They’re looking for small villages or clusters of buildings with land for tourism projects.”
According to Fafián, “small houses with a main building and barn go for around 65,000 euros. Move-in-ready homes go for 120,000 to 150,000. But you need to be sure—rural life can be hard. Some who came during the pandemic are now selling.” Still, she emphasizes that Mallorcans tend to settle long-term, not just buy a second home.
“We Were Doing Great, But…”
Marcos Fernández and Sergio Siverio.
Marcos Fernández (from Asturias) and Sergio Siverio (from Tenerife) also made the move. After 20 years in Mallorca, they relocated to Asturias. They were co-owners of hospitality businesses in Palma and now run a sports center in Tineo and a cocktail bar in Cangas del Narcea.
“The Palma we knew 20 years ago isn’t the same. The cost of living in the Balearics wears you down—it’s unaffordable on an average salary. Here, wages are lower, but the cost of living is much lower too. We’ve made more friends in 3 years here than in 20 in Mallorca. There, most people are just passing through.”
As for housing, they point out: “Here you can rent for 300 euros—in Mallorca, it would be 1,200—and buy for 80,000–100,000 euros—there it would be 250,000–300,000.” They conclude: “Zero regrets. It hurts not to miss such a spectacular place as the Balearics, where I spent 20 years of my life.”
THOSE BORN IN MALLORCA ALSO LEAVE
Ibestat data on migratory movements between regions point to a growing exodus of islanders moving to the Cantabrian coast. Matias Reus Pons, PhD in Demography and lecturer in the area of Human Geography at the UIB, explains that “the upward trend of Mallorcans moving abroad is beginning to be noticed. What is new is that it is also affecting to people born in Mallorca, although in absolute terms the figures are still low”. Between 2021 and 2023, according to published data, those born in Mallorca who have emigrated to Asturias have increased by 82% and to Galicia by 24%. Will this trend continue? “For the moment it is a minority phenomenon in absolute terms,” he clarifies.
THE PRICE OF HOUSING CONTINUES TO RISE
Carlos Bardavío, partner in charge of Real Estate at KPMG Spain, refers to the report by La Caixa in which “it is clear that in the provinces where the temperature is lower, there is a greater increase in the price of rent”. “The real estate market is more dynamic than it seems”, describes the expert. In the case of emigrations from Mallorca to the north, Bardavío points to two factors: “One is obvious, the rise in prices in these provinces is much lower than in Mallorca and there is much more supply. The other is the job market, as these are provinces with a business and financial fabric that is not to be underestimated, with greater opportunities in non-tourist sectors”. The housing situation in Mallorca “is not very encouraging and no solution is foreseen. If interest rates fall, prices will rise. If all the projects announced by the Govern are developed, offering new land and new housing, in the medium term there could be an adjustment, because for prices to go down, supply has to increase”. And demand, he says, continues to rise and the pressure from foreign buyers is putting even more pressure on the market.
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