Santa Maria del Camí

Santa Maria del Camí is located in the Raiguer, on the axis between Palma and Inca, at the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana, and is one of the most sought-after inland towns in Mallorca for year-round living. The reason is simple and very practical: it has a train station with direct service to Palma and Inca, is situated on the motorway, retains a village with its own life and weekly market, and has the mountains nearby. There is no coast. What exists is a comfortable municipality, with services, well-connected, and with a market for village houses, single-family homes, and fincas that competes directly with the outskirts of the capital.

The municipality is located in the Raiguer plain, with the village settled alongside the old road from Palma to Inca —hence its name— and the land gently rising towards the first elevations of the Tramuntana to the north. It is land of vineyards: Santa Maria is in the wine-growing region of central Mallorca, and the cultivation is part of its landscape and economy. The village is of medium scale, with an old town of stone houses and semi-circular arches, the parish church, and a convent as landmarks, and a weekly market that is one of the busiest in the interior and a meeting point for the entire region. Surrounding it are fields of vineyards, almond trees, and dry land, with possessions and country houses scattered throughout.

Santa Maria is, essentially, a village and its countryside, with one more piece. The village concentrates the majority of the housing and all the services: old town of stone houses, 19th-century extensions with more recent housing and single-family homes, and the edges along the road and the station. Es Cabàs and the small settlements and dispersed areas of the municipality are much more rural and tranquil. And around it, the rustic land with fincas, vineyards, possessions, and country houses with land, which is the most sought-after product by buyers from outside and the one that sets the higher price brackets. There are no coastal developments or beach residential areas; the choice is between the old town, the extension, and the countryside, and what changes the most is the convenience of daily life.

This is the municipality's strong point and the basis of its demand. Santa Maria has a varied local commerce, a reference weekly market for the region, educational centres, a health centre, sports facilities, municipal services, and an active local and associative life, with a stable community that lives here all year round and without noticeable tourist seasonality. What is not available here can be found in Palma or Inca, both a very short journey away and both accessible by train, which is the real difference compared to almost any other inland town. It is a municipality designed for everyday life, convenient for families and for those working in the capital.

Santa Maria has no sea, and it is worth mentioning: for the beach, you need to take the car, although the bay of Palma is close by. Its surroundings are those of the Raiguer: fields of vineyards and almond trees, rural paths between dry stone walls, and to the north, the beginning of the Serra de Tramuntana, which provides access to hiking routes without the need to travel. The area is heavily frequented by cyclists, both on the flat and on the climbs to the mountains. Culturally, the village revolves around its market, its festivals and fairs, and the wine tradition, which here is an identity rather than mere decoration. For a larger offering —theatre, concerts, museums— the reference is Palma, which is just a step away, also by train.

This is, by far, the best argument for Santa Maria. The municipality has a train station on the Palma–Inca line, with service in both directions, allowing travel to the capital or to Inca without a car: very few inland towns in Mallorca can say the same. In addition, there is the Palma–Inca motorway, which leaves it a short and flat journey from the capital and the airport, and local roads leading to Marratxí, Consell, Alaró, Bunyola, and Santa Eugènia. Within the municipality, the village can be easily navigated on foot —it is not on a slope like those in the mountains— and a car is necessary mainly for the countryside and for the dispersed areas. Parking in the old town is the usual inconvenience, worsened on market days.

The supply is aimed at year-round living. In the old town, village houses of stone predominate, with two or three floors, some with patios or courtyards, some of considerable size and many in need of renovation. In the extensions, there are single-family homes and terraced houses with gardens, more practical for families, and some apartments in low-rise buildings. In the countryside, there are fincas, possessions, and country houses with land and vineyards, the most exclusive product of the municipality and the one that attracts buyers from Palma and international clients. New builds are limited but exist in the extensions, coexisting with second-hand properties and renovations. A well-renovated village house is a product with clear demand here, not just a cheap option.

Santa Maria is one of the Raiguer markets with the most sustained demand for permanent residents, and the reason is the same as always here: train, motorway, services, and mountains nearby. Competing for the same housing are local and regional buyers and those leaving Palma in search of a village with more space and better prices without losing connection, and this has pushed prices above those of other inland towns of similar size. This demand is joined by international buyers interested in the finca with vineyards and in the characterful stone house. The published supply is short and has low turnover. Long-term residential rentals have a bit more real weight here than on the coast, as they do not compete with seasonal rentals, although they remain scarce.

Santa Maria particularly suits those who want to live in an inland village and not depend on a car to go to Palma, families looking for a single-family home or village house with space, those working in the capital or in Inca, those seeking a finca with vineyards or a country house, and cycling and hiking enthusiasts, due to the proximity of the mountains. It is worth considering, however, that there is no sea and that the beach is a drive away, the price level, which is no longer that of an ordinary village in the Raiguer, the scarcity of supply, parking in the old town —worse on market days—, the condition of many village houses, which often require renovation, the constraints of building or expanding on rustic land, the passage of the motorway and the train through the municipality, with the noise that this implies in some areas, and a winter that is cooler than that of the coast.