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residential Market News: Spanish Real Estate Intelligence

Quabit Creates a Corporate Network to 'Attack' the Rental Market

Quabit Creates a Corporate Network to 'Attack' the Rental Market

24 April 2018 - Eje Prime

Quabit is looking to the future and is organising its business to respond to the new trends in the residential market. The company, chaired by Félix Abánades, has started to create a new corporate network under the activity of freehold properties, a business concept that is used for asset management with ownership rights. The constitution of these companies comes in response to “the evolution of the market and the importance of businesses such as the rental market”, according to explanations provided by Quabit to Eje Prime.

Specifically, the property developer has recently created four companies: Quabit Freehold Properties, Quabit Freehold Properties Levante, Quabit Freehold Properties Centro and Quabit Freehold Properties Sur, whereby covering a large proportion of the Spanish peninsula. All of the companies have their registered addresses at number 1 Calle Capitán Haya in Madrid, which is also home to Quabit's headquarters.

In this way, the company is getting its business ready to meet the needs of new generations, who see renting as a more feasible option. These types of companies may also be the seed of a future Quabit Socimi, although sources at the company say that this option has been “parked” for the time being (…).

Quabit, recent steps

Last year and the beginning of 2018 have been very positive for Quabit. The property developer bid farewell to 2017 with a net profit of €14.4 million, which represented an increase of 80% compared to the €8 million it earned in 2016.

Moreover, the company recorded turnover of €535.7 million in 2017, although its sales fell by 83% due to a reduction in stock during 2016 and because new developments will start to be handed over this year, according to the real estate company. The market value of Quabit’s assets (GAV) as at 31 December 2017 amounted to €399.3 million.

Moreover, the group’s plans involve continuing to fatten up its portfolio with the purchase of new land to continue growing. In April, the company signed a line of credit for up to €50 million with the aim of financing the acquisition of buildable land focused on the construction of residential real estate assets.

The real estate company signed that loan with several funds advised by Taconic Capital Advisors UK and Grupo Royal Metropolitan España. Specifically, according to the agreement, the line will be used to finance 70% of the amount corresponding to the acquisition of land and taxes, whilst the remaining 30% will be financed by Quabit.

The signing of that line of credit formed part of the new investment financing scheme set out by Quabit in its Business Plan for 2017-2022 (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by C. Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

 
Registrars: Mortgage Lending Increased by 10.9% in 2017

Registrars: Mortgage Lending Increased by 10.9% in 2017

23 April 2018 - Eje Prime

The number of mortgages signed to buy homes in Spain during 2017 rose by 10.9% with respect to 2016. According to the Real Estate Yearbook 2017 from the College of Registrars, 310,640 mortgage loans were signed, a figure that represents an increase of 56% compared to the minimum level recorded in 2013. But, despite that significant gain, the figure is still well below the 1.3 million mortgages signed in 2006.

The study reveals that the number of residential mortgages increased in every autonomous region last year, with double-digit growth rates in eight of them. The largest increases were recorded in the Community of Madrid (17.8%), La Rioja (17.8%), Asturias (16.5%), Andalucía (11.7%), Cantabria (11.5%) and the Community of Valencia (11.3%). The regions where the greatest volume of mortgages were signed included Andalucía (60,026), the Community of Madrid (56,866), Cataluña (50,848) and the Community of Valencia (32,408).

In addition to domestic buyers, international purchasers also become more active. In fact, 6.9% of the residential mortgages signed last year were formalised by foreigners, exceeding 21,000 contracts in absolute terms, although three times as many overseas buyers purchased a home in Spain without any financing at all.

The nationalities with the highest percentage weight in terms of residential mortgages signed over the total number of mortgages formalised by foreigners were Romanian (11.6%), British (9.3%), Chinese (8.4%), Italian (5.8%), French (4.6%), Moroccan (4.2%) and German (4%).

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

 
Lucas Fox: Luxury House Prices Rose by 18% in Q1

Lucas Fox: Luxury House Prices Rose by 18% in Q1

23 April 2018 - Eje Prime

Luxury homes in Spain are becoming increasingly more expensive. The luxury residential market saw the value of prime homes increase by 18% during the first quarter of this year. The average price paid during the 3 months to March for these kinds of properties amounted to €924,000, significantly more than the €780,000 recorded by this exclusive branch of the segment during the same period last year, according to data from Lucas Fox.

The strong performance of the Spanish economy in recent times is once again stimulating demand from domestic and overseas investors to purchase homes in the country, above all along the coast and in the major cities.

According to the report from the real estate agency specialising in luxury homes, Marbella and Sitges are the most prime area of this market, and they are monopolising business along the coastlines on which they are located, the Costa del Sol and Costa Brava, respectively.

In the case of Marbella, the city accounted for 67% of the sales that were completed in the region, whilst on the most southerly coast of Cataluña, Sitges accounted for half of all the business on the Costa Brava. “We saw a tremendous rate of growth in sales in Girona and its coastline during the first quarter of 2018”, said Tom Maidment, Director of Lucas Fox Prime.

Foreign investors account for 13% of the prime market  

“International buyers of second homes have been more active, with a notable increase in the number of British buyers”, explained Maidment. In this regard, the director added that “confidence in the market and in the Spanish economy has been consolidated and concerns over Catalan independence have disappeared”.

In total, in 2017, 13% of the purchases undertaken in the luxury residential sector in Spain were made by overseas investors, who acquired 61,000 homes, almost as many as the 65,000 properties bought by foreigners in 2007.

By nationality, the British were the most active buyers, accounting for 15% of the sales made by foreigners, followed by the French, 8.6%; and the Germans, which accounted for 7.8% of the acquisitions of this type of luxury real estate by foreigners.

In the case of Lucas Fox, 77% of the operations that the agency closed during the first quarter of the year related to international clients, most of whom came from the United Kingdom, but also from neighbouring France, the Scandinavian countries and the USA.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

 
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