Will scrapping Golden Visas reduce property prices?

A Euro Weekly News reporter asked five random people in Mallorca for their opinion on the Golden Visa scheme and whether scrapping it would affect property prices.

Spain is debating whether to follow Portugal in scrapping the Golden Visa scheme. This is a fast-track route to obtaining the right to live and work in Spain in exchange for investing €500,000 in property. Could abolishing it reduce property prices in Mallorca?

Visa scheme unfair

Siegrid, visiting from Austria, does not think Golden Visas are a good idea as the scheme is not fair either to locals due to increased property prices, or to the less wealthy who have an equal right to apply for a visa. She says that if the scheme is abolished, “Property prices will probably go down”.

Siegrid, Austria

Radical view – prohibition on foreign buyers

Johannes, also from Austria, takes a radical view: “I would categorically forbid foreigners from buying property in Mallorca, or only under strict regulations. That way, prices for land and housing would remain accessible to local people.” He says that speculation in his native Austria leads to land use changes and asks whether we should “bury our heads in the sand” or face the problem head on.

Johannes

Property speculation uncool

Birgit, from Linz in Austria, is on a cycling holiday in Mallorca. She says property speculation is “fundamentally not cool” and that there is an “increasing divide between rich and poor”, not helped by property investments to obtain a Golden Visa.

Birgit

Unfair scheme

Elana, originally from California, lived in Barcelona before settling in Mallorca last November. She says it doesn’t seem fair that just because of someone’s financial situation they can get to do what they want. “The Golden Visa does influence local prices for sure, which especially affects lower-income households”. She would welcome scrapping the scheme to reduce speculation: “Local property owners compare the high sums obtained for neighbouring fincas and naturally want the same when they sell their own property.”

Elana

Trickle down effect weak

Lau, a yoga teacher originally from Lithuania, settled in Mallorca one-and-a-half years ago after 15 years in Barcelona. She says that if the Golden Visas are done away with, “perhaps prices will go down and more property will become available”, although she is not sure this will trickle down to less affluent segments of society.

Lau

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.