“Mallorca is a five-star plus global destination to invest in real estate, it’s hard to beat...”

Hosting the three-day event are the Managing Director of Engel & Völkers in the Mallorca Southwest, Hans Lenz; Florian Hofer, Managing Director Engel & Völkers Balearics; Stuart Siegel, Chief Strategy Officer for Engel & Völkers New York City; and Maximilian Stamm, Managing Director and Head of Private Office for Engel & Völkers who is based in London.

The event is significantly important for Mallorca and is testimony to the island’s position in the global real estate market.

“It’s the first global summit of Engel & Völkers Private Office and out of all the locations, of which we have 1,200, Mallorca has been chosen for the group of 135 private office advisors to fly in to from all over the world. There are a lot of Americans, for three days of work, understanding the market and these are the people who operate with the most exclusive properties and the most discerning buyers at a global level - that’s what Private Office is about.

Passion for Mallorca

“The Americans have a real passion for Mallorca: There are not so many buying but they are definitely very interested, so this trip for the Americans to experience Mallorca is amazing and they love it,” said Lenz.

Siegal is in fact the CEO of the Private Office and overseas operations in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Peru as well as the United States, while Stamm is responsible for Europe, Dubai, South Africa and Hong Kong. They are both very excited about what the Engel & Völkers Private Office has to offer in Mallorca. “I’m in charge globally and the basic idea of the Private Office is to work with and for very affluent mobile clients who require a unique level of service which is not always just the transaction. The Private Office is advisory and transactional, we provide advice to a client on all matter of issues. So it’s really about providing a level of service and access in general for those very special clients,” Siegal explained.

Deeper understanding

“Take banking for example. You have the retail clients and then is there is the high network. From our perspective there’s a big difference when a retail client purchases property and the services which add value to their consumption path and the services that an ultra-high end network individual requires with assets dispersed in different countries, potentially with multiple properties; the way they go about purchasing and the level of discretion they might require. So the Private Office is a services unit that is geared up to add more value to the ultra high network,” Stamm explained.

“It’s a deeper understanding of their needs and it’s also a way in which we create a community within Engel & Völkers and those top people to share information, share clients, to refer listings to refer buyers,” added Siegel.

“If you jump to the how, and that’s quite unique to what we have built within Engel & Völkers under the leadership of Stuart, is to build a network of private advisors. So Stuart and I are acting behind the scenes and we orchestrate a network of attendees of this event who are some of our 300 top performing agents. They have been with us for a long period of time and have shown themselves to be very effective and great service providers for affluent clients who can get the opportunity to enjoy events like these and also form an international bond and collaborate to provide a first-class service,” added Stamm.

“I think it’s important to understand that we’re the only residential real estate company globally who allocate senior leadership, resources and actual structure to create a community for these individuals, full stop,” stressed Siegel.

This is why events such as the one in Mallorca are so important because apart from introducing Mallorca to the Private Office it’s all about networking, tightening cooperation and collaboration and expanding the advisors’ know-how.

“For example, our Private Office in Chicago could receive a call from a client interested in purchasing a vineyard in Italy or a property in Mallorca. Then our advisors will be able to say that they’ve just been in Mallorca talking to their colleagues on the ground in Palma or Italy and be able to refer that client on with full confidence that they will be in good professional expert hands,” Stamm added.

Overwhelmingly popular

“Mallorca is clearly overwhelmingly popular. Not only is it in the Mediterranean, which is a brand of global importance, it’s also extremely well positioned strategically and is probably in terms of infrastructure the most sound and well connected.

“Property in Mallorca, the island’s infrastructure and few issues mean the island is becoming an increasingly sought after venue for more and more nationalities. And we’re not just talking about Americans, we’re talking about extremely aspirational people from around the world. The total picture here is extremely positive, all that has happened here, and that’s being seen on the international market.

“If you want to have a place in the south, in the Mediterranean, to have this infrastructure, hospitals, logistics, safety, education, we’ve got the Rafa Nadal Academy, for example, which has an international reputation, and the airport, then Mallorca is second to none. The island has also become a hub for private jets just as it has for charter yachts. You’ll find in both cases, many are coming out of Mallorca to go to places to pick up their guests, if they’re not boarding here on the island to start with,” said Stamm.

Five-star plus are arriving

“This is something that you are going to see, the five-star plus have started to arrive. We had breakfast at the Hotel Son Bunyola, you will see other houses upgrading, you see the entire marina in Palma being torn down. It is clear that not only is a shift taking place in Magalluf and Arenal, but it’s also clear that the premium end of the market upwards, both in the finca and the countryside market, is going to take another shift. You’re going to see the arrival of the five-star plus on a level of the South of France which is aging, like Sardinia. That said, there’s still a lot of competition out there but Mallorca certainly ticks all the right boxes.

“When it comes to Mallorca, you can see and identify a clear future of positive development and that’s the difference. Plus, Mallorca, especially Palma, is open all year. It’s not as seasonal as other destinations and that’s very important and very attractive, especially for clients looking for a property.

Dawn of a new future

“For example, you can go and see a movie in English, a specialist in one of the many hospitals while at the same time you have top notch golf courses. This is a global place now. You would not get pretty big metropolises, if you run through European cities, which could match the overall offer of this island.

“It’s the dawn of a new future for Mallorca and we see this strongly in the house prices, more along the coast where they are topping, but that will eventually move in land and I think we’ll see the value of fincas and estates rise as well. It’s inevitable.” “That’s why we brought the network here,” underlined Siegel.