Aguirre Newman: 2016 Is Going To Be A Good Year For RE

26 February 2016 – El Economista

According to the President of the real estate consultancy Aguirre Newman, Santiago Aguirre Gil de Biedma, the real estate sector is going to continue to see an “extraordinary” level of activity in 2016, thanks to the significant interest from investors.

In a presentation at the 2nd Meeting of the Real Estate Sector, organised by the business school IESE, Aguirre was optimistic about the year ahead: “we are continuing to see very significant interest” from investors.

Nevertheless, he lamented the possible effects of the on-going political uncertainty. “We should be worried if we look at what has happened to our friends in Portgual”, he said, although he qualified that by saying that “it will not be easy to undo the reforms approved over the last four years because that would require consensus”.

“These reforms have given us stability and confidence in the markets, which will continue for the next few years”, he said. In any case, Aguirre expects the panorama in his sector during the second half of the year to be “much clearer than it is now”.

A new sense of normality in the real estate sector

Meanwhile, the CEO of the appraisal company Tinsa, Ignacio Martos, confirmed that we are experiencing a new sense of normality in the real estate sector. “The increase in prices during 2015 was consistent. We are facing a scenario in which asset prices are very good and it is likely that they will continue to increase”, he said.

In terms of the near future, Martos advised investors to “not gamble too much” to “take the right decisions” in a market that is going to be characterised by caution.

When asked about the trend in the sector, Martos said that speculation and large price movements “are now a thing of the past” and he agreed with Aguirre that the market “is in a good position” and “there are going to be lots of opportunities”.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake