Ibiza Property Investment for US Buyers
The case for the island as an asset, stated without the marketing gloss.
The investment case for Ibiza rests on two durable facts. The first is scarcity: this is a small island where planning policy protects the countryside and coastline, so the stock of buildable land is limited by design and cannot meaningfully expand. The second is demand: buyers come from across Europe and increasingly from further afield, drawn by climate, safety and a lifestyle that few places replicate.
Neither fact guarantees anything in a given year, and we will not pretend otherwise. But structurally scarce assets facing broad international demand tend to be resilient, and the best-located, properly licensed properties on Ibiza have historically been the most tightly held.
Letting, and the licence that governs it
For owners who intend to let, the single most important concept is the ETV licence, which governs legal holiday rental in the Balearics. A villa with a valid ETV licence can be let to holidaymakers lawfully; one without it cannot, whatever a listing may imply. The licence therefore has a direct bearing on rental potential and on value, and verifying it is a fixed step in our due diligence.
Two ways to let
- Holiday letting: higher gross income concentrated in the season, dependent on the ETV licence, management and marketing.
- Long-term letting: steadier income, simpler administration, and no ETV requirement, at the cost of peak-season rates.
Which suits you depends on your use of the house, your appetite for administration and your tax position, which your advisors should model properly.
Realistic numbers, not marketing numbers
Ibiza attracts optimistic brochures. We take a different approach: because we are engaged by the buyer, our job is to test the numbers, not to decorate them. We advise on the basis of verified comparables, actual transaction evidence for genuinely similar properties, rather than asking prices or projected yields, and we account for the full cost of purchase: transfer tax on a sliding scale of roughly 8 to 13 percent on resales, 10 percent VAT plus stamp duty on new builds, and roughly 1 percent each for notary and registry and for independent legal advice.
We publish no return percentages because honest ones depend on the specific house, its licence and how you use it. What we offer instead is a clear-eyed analysis of each candidate property, on a call at US hours, before you commit a dollar.
A selection from the collection
7-Bedroom West-Facing Villa with Sea Views near Sant Antoni, Ibiza
€2,950,000
7-Bedroom Sea-View Villa in Roca Llisa, Ibiza
€4,500,000
5-Bedroom Villa with Tourist Licence in Vista Alegre, Ibiza
€3,690,000
Talk it through with an advisor
We work with US-based clients across time zones. Book a call at a time that suits you.