Month: January 2015

Downgrade on Energy Efficiency Rating for 43% of Dwellings in Spain

5/01/2015 – Cinco Dias

A year and a half ago (June 2013), a legal requirement on carrying out an assessment of energy performance of existing buildings came into force. The goal was clear: establishing a reliable parameter for property comparison, essential at the moment of marketing a housing unit in Spain.

Undoubtedly, experts criticized this Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulation as according to them the mandatory evaluation would restrict to homes for sale and let and would not apply to all the buildings with no exception.

As the domestic energy assessors said, the nuance, together with short validity time and little public disclosure about the law made ‘citizens assimilate the implications of energy efficiency grades (ranging from A to G) and therefore its impact on property values is not perceivable yet’, explains Marta Garcia Hernandez, chief of Tinsa Certify.

The assessor, leading in the sector, has produced around 36.500 energy certificates during the year and a half, of which 35.000 corresponded to dwellings. The result is heartbreaking.

As much as 43.07% was classified as G, the worst grade of all, and 36.9% was given an E, third-to-worst. Only the three least efficient grades (i. e. E, F and G) represent 95% of the stock. Approaching the data from the other side, mere 1.29% of the evaluations were closed with one of the best grades (A, B or C).

Another discouraging fact is that the number of issued document makes a tiny part of the total. It is estimated that they represent an energy performance of 6% of the buildings and 2.5% of all dwellings. The subterfuge about the assessment prices should also fall under the adjustment hammer of the sector if citizens are expected to respect the requirement.

Poor classification, Greater Consumption & Higher Costs

Some autonomous communities of Spain have commenced to impose first sanctions on individuals and companies who had dodged the obligation. Fines oscillate between 1.200 and 6.000 euros.

Tinsa defends that many citizens are unconscious of the mandatory nature of the law as it has not been made public widely enough. Moreover, private owners do not know how much they could save on an energy-efficient home.

Tinsa elaborated a table specifying requirements to be met for each grade. As an example, the assessor takes an average Madrid dwelling which, if having an A-grade, should consume energy for 200 euros annually, and if it had a G-grade, the cost would soar to 2.500 euros per year.

Final grade shall have an influence on the property price, pulling it down in case of poor performance and adding to value when it is efficient.

 

Original story: Cinco Días (by Raquel Díaz Guijarro)

Translation: AURA REE

BBVA: Property Sales Down 1.1% in October

5/01/2015 – Expansion

Housing sales declined in last October but they continue to show ‘a positive trend’ over the year, whereas prices are nearing stability, informs bank BBVA in its Flash of Spanish Real Estate report.

Production ‘maintains the progress added up in the last months’ by, for instance, Social Security data which points at a 0.7% increase in October and November.

During the month of October, home sales went down by 1.1% which, nothwithstandingly, ‘does not interrupt the growth path’ observed over the past months as the transactions sealed since January have already reached a 17.3% upsurge from the previous year.

Employment is heading upwards and financial circumstances are going stable but the customer confidence ‘lags behind as limited optimism about the future Spain’s economics persists’.

Likewise, activity in the mortgage market has been increasing and new loan approval for house purchase in October showed a staggering 23% year-on-year rise, supporting the trend climbing up.

In turn, there was a 21% increase in land deals registered in the third quarter of the year.

 

Original story: Expansión

Translation: AURA REE

 

Vi overlevde macen og lunsjen hadde en beroligende

Guide til Playdates

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Vi er 17 minutter i en mandag morgen, spilledato og bickering har brutt ut blant gjengen på fire: mine tvillinger, Drew og Claire, 4, og deres venner Josie, 4 og Bella, 3. Gjentatt klagesyndrom har oppdaget Det er rapportert om en klemt hendelse. Hva skjedde med ‘play’ i ‘playdate’? Hvor er delen der mamma leser mens barna morer seg? Hvorfor, hvorfor var jeg enig i en fire-timers lektid? Jeg var enig fordi jeg ikke visste noe bedre. Jeg canada goose dunjakke visste ikke at fire barn som møtes fabelaktig på førskolen, kanskje ikke leker tilfredsstillende i huset vårt. For en sak mangler vi et dedikert personale som er klar til å veilede to barn i liming mens den tredje kokker i lekekjøkkenet og de fjerde strengene perler. For en annen var spilledatamannene ikke kjent med huset vårt, så de var engstelige. For det meste visste jeg ikke at fire timer er en vanvittig tid. Vi overlevde macen og lunsjen hadde en beroligende, samlende effekt, men det var lenge før jeg var klar til å møte en playdate igjen. Når barnet ditt hovder inn i vennskaps- og sosialiseringsverdenen, husk denne virkeligheten testet råd om hvordan man skal håndtere og til og med forhindre triste situasjoner i situasjonen. Han vil være en interessant utfordring. To sterke barn vil gjøre en tøff playdate. Wickberg of Dallas har lagt merke til at når hans 4 år gamle, Ellie, har en like sterk tenkende venn over, finner Ellie det unnvikende å dele lekene sine, selv om hun er i stand til å med enklere pals. canada goose jakke ‘Du får to barn som er vant til å kontrollere sine egne ting, og det kan føre til problemer,’ sier Wickberg. For å håndtere delingen utfordret: Spill matchmaker. Kanskje din sjefspike er mer behagelig å leke med barn som er yngre og lar henne ringe på skuddene. Eller kanskje finner hun det lettere å leke med eldre barn, som utvilsomt har ansvaret. Mens lekedatter er en måte å lære deling på, er det ikke nødvendig å gjøre dem ekstra vanskelige ved å ha to barn med personligheter som ikke passer. Vær trygg på at barnet ditt vil slutte å være så possessive. Forklar begrepet om å dele på forhånd: Hvis hun lar en venn bruke sin Magna Doodle, kan hun gå til andres hus og leke med lekene sine. Få oppmerksomhet og oppfordre dem til å finne ut hva de skal gjøre. Spør hver av dem for en ide. Hvis de ikke kan komme løs på egen hånd, vær klar med en selv. Stella Frankl, mor til 3 år gamle Rivka i Potomac, Maryland, har prøvd tidsbegrensninger: Når hun sier det (eller når kjøkkentimeren går av), må barna bytte leker. Slutt på historien. Barn liker regler når de føler seg rettferdige. Hvis alt annet feiler: Ta med leketøyet. Eller gjør en beeline for distraksjoner: klistremerker, markører, forskjellige leker. Heldigvis er barns oppmerksomhetsspenning kort. Ofte vil den etterlengtede leken snart bli satt til side, slik at det andre barnet kan leke med det, hvis hun er interessert. Noen er igjen. Tre år gamle Isabella Garcia og hennes venn Marcy pleier å leke sammen vakkert, men de gjorde det ikke da de var på en nylig playdate med en felles venn, Loren. Siden Loren og Marcy deler en barnevakt, har de veldefinerte rutiner, inkludert hvem som får spille mammaen og hvem som skal spille barnet. Resultatet: Isabella ble igjen på sidelinjen. ‘Hun var tydeligvis et’ tredje hjul ‘, sier mamma Julie Garcia i Bethesda, Maryland. ‘De to andre jentene tilbringer hver dag sammen, og det var vanskelig for Isabella å bryte inn.’ Tre er et tøft nummer canada goose importør norge i en sosial situasjon, selv for voksne, sier Sherry Cleary, en mor av en og direktør for Child Development Center ved University of Pittsburgh. ‘Det kan bli to mot en,’ sier Cleary. ‘Noen fremstår alltid som leder.’ Jenter, spesielt, har en tendens til å ha en vanskeligere tid, inkludert en ekstra. Hennes forslag: Hold deg til en på en playdates.Men når det ikke er i kortene: Legg ned loven. Vil du ha barnet ditt til å være fint? Fortell ham så. Sarah Behunin, en mamma på fem i Twin Falls, Idaho, gjør sikker på at barna canada goose norge i alderen 2 til 9 vet at hun forventer at alle skal bli med. Hun leverer denne meldingen minst en dag før lekedatoen, slik at de får mulighet canada goose i norge til å ta det opp før gjestene ankommer. For barn som ikke kan klare dette, bør mamma være klar til å avslutte spillet og starte noe nytt. Og hvis ett barn utelukkes flere ganger, prøver Behunin videreføring: Hun drar ut en overraskelse hun er stashed i skapet. ‘Det kan være nytt glitterlim eller en masse klistremerker,’ sier hun. ‘En gang tok jeg en boks med https://www.canada-goose-jakker.com gamle Beanie Babies fra garasjen og barna spilte med dem i flere timer.’ Hvis alt annet feiler: Ring det av. Behunin har vært kjent for å få slutt på en dramatikk som gjør en gjest elendig, og sparer dermed de fattige ekskluderte barnet canada goose norge nettbutikk og lærer de andre barna en liten leksjon. ‘Det er dager da det bare ikke kommer til å skje,’ sier hun. De er ‘Running Wild’, jeg må henge på, sier min venn Karin Evans, canada goose outlet en mor av to i Berkeley, California, hvem som prøver å snakke med meg på telefonen midt i en tre-jente-lekedag. ‘De kjører gjennom huset canada goose outlet norge gjennombløtende våt.’ Barns energi under en playdate kan være quirky: for mye og de er ute av kontroll, for lite og de begynner å bli rastløse. Hva skal jeg gjøre? Sett grunnregler. Er noen deler av huset utenfor grenser? Har de lov til å spise i stuen? Er det greit å løpe gjennom huset i bløtvåten? Hvis de er bølle, få dem ut av huset. Når barna er ute, brenner de opp energi og trenger ikke å forsvare sin innendørs torv. ‘Når barna kommer over, forklarer jeg: ingen videoer, ingen TV, ingen dataspill,’ sier Julie Schissel, en mor på to i Port Washington, New York. I stedet fortaler hun dem at playdates er for å spille. Noe nytt og uventet vil bidra til å øke humøret, roe det ned. Prøv en endring i naturen eller gi mat: Du kan foreslå at de farge på kjøkkenet mens du lager popcorn. Jeg har hatt lykke til å ta opp videokameraet. Da en pakke med kusiner, i alderen 2 til 6, begynte å bli misfornøyd, foreslo jeg at de praktiserer å skrike. Mens de skrek på hodet, tok jeg opp scenen for ettertiden. Hvis alle Ellers mislykkes: Ta en pause. En ‘no TV’ -regel er stor mesteparten av tiden, men en interlude brukt på å se en kort video kan gjenopprette harmoni til en playdate som har gått dårlig. Sjansen er at du kan begynne playdate fra bunnen av etterpå. Ditt barn kan ikke si farvel Noen ganger tror du at du går av kroken i en time fordi en annen mor er vert. Men da kommer dere begge og barnet ditt klumper beinet ditt i et visuelt grep. For å hjelpe ham å slippe: Før lekedagen, spør han om han vil gå. Hvis han sier nei, spør han hvorfor. Kanskje han er redd for hunden i det andre huset eller hater veien Den andre moren gjør at han fullfører all sin melk. Karen De Mara fra Salt Lake City gir henne 3 år gammel, Hunter, snacks eller leker som han kan dele så snart han kommer til sin venns hus. Hvis Hunter fortsatt vil at moren skal holde seg, vil De Mara henge ut for litt og lek med ham og hans kone. Du er ekspert på barnet ditt, så hvis han blir jitteraktig, vet du best om han vil slappe av når du er borte eller forbli uforgjengelig. Det er helt fint å opphold for en playdate eller to ganger før han blir komfortabel. ‘Hvis Hunter virkelig virker ukjent, må jeg utsette ham,’ forteller De Mara. «Jeg tror ikke det gjør ham til noen godhet, den andre foreldre og barnet for å få ham til å bli.» Hold det kort. Første gang du slipper barnet ditt på en spilledato, prøv et kort fravær, selv 20 minutter mens du er ferdig æren kan være en god prøvekjøring. Hvis alt annet feiler: Vær den perfekte vertinne. Hold deg til å ha spilledatter i huset ditt for øyeblikket. canada goose norge forhandler Barnet ditt kan på grunn av hjemmets komfort få tak i hva en playdate handler om. Til slutt vil han at du skal forlate ham alene. Siden den første interminable playdate for fire i huset vårt, har barna hatt mange venner over, noen ganger vellykket, noen ganger mindre. De gledelige lekedagene er et snikkseksempel på deres voksende selvstendighet. Jeg må ikke kaste forstyrrelser så mye. I dag gikk jeg forbi stuen og skjønte Drew, Claire, og deres venn Josie pakket inn i tepper og spilte en komplisert spill av familie / sykehus / ferie, absorberes grundig i sin imaginære verden. Claire så meg og sa: ‘Vi vil ha privatliv!’ Jeg var glad for å forplikte meg.

canada goose victoria parka

canada goose jakke

canada goose outlet

canada goose jakker dame

canada goose salg

canada goose canada goose salg jakke herre

canada goose

canada goose canada goose jakke oslo victoria

canada goose trillium

canada goose jakke dame

canada goose herre

canada goose norge

canada goose jakker herre.

Armabex Launches First REIT Directed To Small Homeowners

02/01/2015 – El Confidencial

New year, new REITs. The corporate form that is revolutionizing the real estate sector will have in the first half of this year a new tenant who promises to expand the tax advantages of these companies to any small and medium-sized property owner, but who lacks the minimum capital of five million euros needed to start a company of this type.

Armabex Managers is the company whose aim is not to go to the market to raise money to invest in real estate, as has been seen up until now, but to directly capture individual properties and, with this formulated portfolio, go public. As President of Armabex, Antonio Fernández, said, “We are the first vehicle based on property raising, since the first contributions will be made only with assets, not money.”

The new REIT is launching with a Valencian investor who will provide 120 homes valued at about 10 million euros, ensuring the viability of the project; various other owners, who have already expressed interest in joining the project before beginning to trade on the MAB in the first half of the new year, will also partake. The requirements to participate in this process are to provide a preset minimum equity of 120 billion euros in available housing, either without charges or where the mortgage represents less than 50% of the property, and that have been for rent during a minimum of six months in the last year.

“The main advantage of this REIT is that it allows small and medium-sized property owners, who have either inherited their properties or are professionals who have been building an asset portfolio consisting of apartments, to liquidate and get a return without worrying about all the management problems that these properties entail,” said Fernandez.

In principle, the REIT will limit its action to Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Seville, where it will have a network of real estate agents who will market the properties. In addition, each year there will be four ‘windows’ of liquidity, which will allow the entry of new members via transfers of assets and, after the first year, one window for cash investments.

REAL ESTATE SECURITIZATION

“To ensure transparency, we are in negotiations with two large real estate consultants, to select one which will be responsible for valuing properties according to clearly defined standards,” Fernandez said. These valuations are carried out each year to update the value of homes and put them in value also in terms of the ‘windows’ as they being opening each year.

Each property owner will have a share in the company based on the valuation of their assets over the total of the REIT. Alongside the annual dividend, they will benefit from the returns Armabex expects to obtain through the revaluation of assets, since the company is being created at a low point in the market — which gives the company confidence that the value of these properties will increase with time — and the management that the company will carry out by buying and selling assets.

From the third year onwards, Fernandez plans to start divestments of homes that have been provided to the company and, with the money earned, to buy other apartments, in addition to acquisitions that will take place after the second fiscal year with cash investments. “Our goal is to ensure an annual coupon of between 150 and 250 points above the ten-year bond yield plus the profit obtained with revaluation of the REIT”.

Being a listed company, the investors that provide their homes, if they need liquidity, may sell shares directly in the market, allowing them to easily monetize an asset as illiquid as housing. “Basically, this is a securitization of real estate,” said the president of Armabex, convinced that this type of product can be a solution, for example, to deal with issues based on property inheritance.

Armabex was the first firm to request the incorporation of a REIT on the MAB (Alternative Stock Exchange Market). It was in March 2013 when Armabez, as a registered advisor, coordinated Promorent’s entrance into the market, which solidified in November. Now it has decided to take a step further and create its own listed real estate investment company, acting as a consultant.

Original article: El Confidencial (by R. Ugalde)

Translation: Aura REE

Hotel Investment Reaches 1.1 Billion

02/01/2015 – El Mundo

Investment in the Spanish hotel sector has reached 1.1 billion euros, according to a JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group report, which states that economic recovery and increasing confidence among international investors have caused investment levels to soar in Spain.

The year will be remembered as one of the best in the last 20 years in terms of hotel investment in Spain and the odds are high that 2015 will show a similar or even better performance.

The phenomenon finds reflection in such deals as the Edificio España building, Madrid, which is set to house a high-end hotel and apartments, as well as a retail area. Another example makes the Deutsche Bank property located in Paseo de Gracia street, Barcelona, chosen by a multi-national brand for opening a luxury establishment.

Over the year 2014, investment targets have changed, looking mostly to holiday spots and secondary cities. To illustrate, in 2013 the beach & sun properties accounted for 18% of all deals and in 2014 they reached a 34% share. Not shy at all, the smaller cities boosted their popularity from 8% to 12% if compared to the previous year.

Finally, prime cities like Madrid or Barcelona concetrated 54% of the total investment in hotels, while in 2013 they accounted for one third of all transactions.

The report underlines high dispersion of the hotel deals seen across the country in cities like Valencia, Cordoba, Alicante, Huesca, Cadiz, Caceres or A Coruña.

Not only the change in preferable places has been noticed but also in origins of the investors. Many wished to expand their portfolios and obtain significant returns from consolidation of such markets as Barcelona or Majorca, or the better outlook for the industry displayed for Madrid, Marbella or Valencia.

Among the 2014 most important investments, we find the Intercontinental establishment bought by Katara Hospitality, abovementioned Edificio España in Madrid sold to Chinese group Dalian Wanda and the Deutsche Bank building acquired by a joint venture of KKH Capital Group and Perella Wienberg Real Estate. Furthermore, noteworthy were the sales of the old Banesto headquarters to Pontegadea, the Hotel Renaissance in Barcelona to QAFIP, the Blau Mediterraneo to Hipotels, and the Majorcan Hotel Valparaiso Palace bought by GPRO.

Apart from the purchases metioned before, Madrid saw its another jewel, the Asturias, changing hands in 2014.

Asian Buyers Warming to Madrid & Majorca

Asian investors were the main players in 2014, snatching the Spanish properties from under the European and the Arab noses.

Spanish buyers have increased their share from 49% to 58%, partly because of the Socimis (REITs), especially Hispania.

Private equity firms accounted for 10% more than the previous year, boosting the percentage from 1% to 11%. For example, Cerberus and Orion Capital bought the Sotogrande complex including two hotels.

Also, the real estate companies raised their share from 20% to 30%, while investment funds and private purchasers reduced their contribution. Hotel operators´ investment practically stagnated.

Original article: El Mundo

Translation: Aura REE

Mortgages To Become €140 Cheaper Per Year On Average

02/01/2015 – Cinco Días

The Euribor, which is the reference rate for most Spanish mortgages, has closed 2014 at a record low of 0.329% and will bring the price of mortgages down some 140 euros per year.

The Euribor began to drop months ago and has arrived at the end of December with a daily rate of 0.325%. So, it has ended the year at a record low of 0.329%, which is 0.214 points fewer than it was in December last year.

XTB analyst Miguel Antonio Marcos has said that 2014 was a “historic” year for the Euribor, since it has managed to set one record low after another since the beginning of the year.

“The fall in inflation and the slowing down of the European economy have come to an end, leading to an unprecedented performance in Europe: the application of unconventional monetary policy by the European Central Bank (ECB),” he told Europa Press.

Marcos indicated that these measures have been reflected in bond markets and in the rate of the Euribor, which started the year in the vicinity of 0.55% and ended the year at below 0.33%, registering a 40% drop. “A really positive year for Spanish mortgage holders,” he added.

Thus, Marcos estimated that the reduction of the rate over the last month will lead to “a slight relief” for mortgage holders who have to review their mortgages during the month of January.

“In principle, we think that the situation is not changing much, but we can not forget that the Euribor traded above 5% in the years before the crisis,” he stated.

Favorable Outlook for 2015

For the next year, the XTB analyst assures that everything leads us to think that the monetary policy carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB) will continue.

“With the economic situation in Europe failing to give definite signs of recovery and with inflation increasingly closer to zero, it appears that the Euribor will not be a problem for mortgage holders,” said Marcos.

In this regard, he said that the most likely scenario is for the 12-month Euribor to be in the region of 0.30%, “as cause and consequence of a new attempt by European bodies to circulate credit, reduce unemployment and make the economy in the ‘Old Continent’ grow at reasonable rates.”

Original article: Cinco Días (by EFE)

Translation: Aura REE

Spain’s Real Estate Sector Closed 2014 With A Record High

02/01/2015 – Expansión

The arrival of international funds and the implementation of large REITs have increased investments, with respect to previous years, up to 9 billion euros. Both the total figures and number of operations have skyrocketed. Well-located large shopping centers and office buildings have been the most desirable assets in 2014.

After more than five years of decline in business, the Spanish real estate sector predicted that recovery would arrive in the year 2014. However, the more optimistic reality has exceeded all expectations.

In anticipation of the year-end figures, this is already the second best year in the last decade, surpassed only by 2007, in the boom of the Spanish economy. “The market this year has been proportionally more active than in 2007. A higher number of assets have been purchased, and the prices, when compared with 2007 figures, are much higher,” explained representatives from the research department of JLL Spain.

So far this year, more than 6.18 billion euros have been invested in real estate for tertiary use (i.e. non-residential), according to Deloitte Real Estate.

This figure soars to 9 billion, according to the consultancy group, Aguirre Newman, if we take into account multiple debt portfolios whose securities were real estate assets, and the sale of land and housing.

These figures are double those recorded in 2013, 2012 and 2011, and are explained by a combination of several factors. “2014 was a year in which all the elements were present to favor real estate investment: the improvement of the overall economic situation, the emergence of new players with liquidity and the pressure to invest (the REITs), the return of funding and the need to sell certain closed funds,” says Javier Garcia-Mateo, director of Deloitte Real Estate.
New investors

The new players in the real estate sector, the REITs, are among the most influential reasons for investment growth. Only four major listed real estate companies, Merlin Properties, Hispania Real, Lar España and Axia Real Estate, have invested over 2.4 billion euros. Among their investments was the purchase of Marineda City, a shopping center located in La Coruña (Galicia), by Merlin Properties for 260 million euros, the largest purchase of a shopping center until December 24, 2014.

A few days ago, the British real estate company, Intu Properties, beat this record by paying 451 million euros for Puerto Venecia in Zaragoza. With these last transactions, investment in shopping centers in 2014 amounted to 3 billion euros, the same amount invested across the real estate sector in 2013.

Shopping centers are not the only commercial properties to be the star of large operations. Street storefronts have also been key players in investments. Thus, companies such as Mango bought property in Madrid and Bilbao to create large retail stores; while international funds, such as Axa Real Estate and Deka, bid for being the landlords of the main brands along the Gran Via in Madrid.

As for office buildings, investment has soared over 200% from January to September to 2.4 billion euros, according to CBRE. These figures are due to the purchase of portfolios such as the four buildings located in Barcelona and Madrid held by Blackstone, in addition to the other four buildings that the same fund bought from SAREB a few days ago.

Also noteworthy is the purchase of two properties in Barcelona — Torre Agbar and Paseo de Gracia 111 — which will be transformed into luxury hotels, and the numerous buildings sold by public administrations such as the Generalitat.

“A year of great investment activity has closed and the market should expect the same level of activity for the next year, albeit with some changes in the profile of investors,” says Jaime Pascual, Executive Managing Director of Aguirre Newman.

Original article: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)
Translation: Aura REE

Bank Reduces Development Risk To Levels Seen A Decade Ago

02/01/2015 – Expansión

LATEST DATA FROM BANK OF SPAIN / The sector lowers its credit portfolio for real estate development to 156.2 billion, levels not seen since 2004. The balance has fallen 52% from a record 325 billion in 2009.

The Spanish banking sector is leaving financial restructuring behind, having reduced its development risk by half, which has been a major point of weakness throughout the crisis. The sector’s credit balance declined to 156.2 billion in September, according to the latest data published by the Bank of Spain. Thus, financial institutions have placed their stock in the levels seen a decade ago, in 2004, when the housing bubble began to rise.

With this, the bank has cut 52% exposure to real estate development from its June 2009 record, when it was at 325 billion euros.

Factors

Reducing direct exposure to developers is due to several factors. Some of them reflect the fact that risk has not been eliminated in the strict sense, but that balance sheets have been transformed or moved from banks to other economic agents.

In this regard, one of the elements that explains this reduced exposure is the creation of SAREB, also known as the ‘bad bank.’ The financial institutions with public aid transferred a net development loans (with already reduced provisions) of almost 35 billion euros between 2012 and 2013. This risk has stopped pressuring state-backed groups, but has been assumed by the shareholders of the bad bank.That is, by taxpayers, through the Restructuring Fund (Frob), with a share of 45%, and healthy banks: Santander (17%); CaixaBank (12%); Sabadell (7%) and Popular (6%), mainly.

As important or more than this factor are the allocation of assets and debt swaps for property. The bank began to systematically implement this strategy at the beginning of the crisis, in order to ease the financial burden on developers and give the sector some breathing room. Currently, gross property portfolio of banks totaled at 84.5 billion, up 12.6% from 75 billion a year ago.

The transfer of loans to bad debts (considered irrecoverable and given at 100%) and sales, still emerging, of developer credit portfolios to vulture funds have also contributed to lowering stock. In October, for example, Bankia sold a loans portfolio to real estate companies with a nominal value of 335 million euros to the Anglo-Saxon hedge fund, Chenavari. Sabadell, CaixaBank and BMN are also discussing developer sales credit, which is scheduled to be closed soon.

Looking ahead, analysts believe that the activity of the real estate sector and the continuing process of risk reduction of banks will be slow. Experts from International Financial Analyst (AFI) predict that the total portfolio of developer and constructor loans, which in September totaled at 205 billion (156.2 billion in loans to developers and 48.8 billion more to constructors), will amount to 198 billion at the end of 2014. In 2015, the number should be reduced to 187 billion (with a quarterly decrease of 5.8%), and in 2016, it may even reach 179 billion euros (-4.3%).

Profitability

The institutions and investment firms agree that development risk is no longer a source of uncertainty for the Spanish financial system. The arrears of these companies, with dubious loans of around 58.5 billion, is 37%. This exposure, however, is properly covered by the financial reform and restructuring of the real estate sector, which has placed the average coverage levels at around 50%. For the next year, AFI experts estimate that the default rate will remain at 34.3%, decreasing to 30.8% by the end of 2016. However, this exposure remains a major disadvantage in terms of profitability, which is the main challenge being faced by Spain’s financial system. Although not by disturbing amounts, institutions assume that they will have to keep making provisions to cover the deterioration of their real estate portfolios. For its high default rate, this risk also entails significant capital consumption as well as an increase in expenditures for the operational costs of maintaining their enormous portfolios.

Original article: Expansión (by M. Martínez)

Translation: Aura REE

 

Banco Popular Rescues San José Realtor And Takes Over

02/01/2015 – ABC

The San José Real estate group has been saved by the bell

Saved by the bell. The San Jose Group has found a white knight to save it from the dire straits of bankruptcy, as the ABC reported yesterday. Banco Popular and its partner, the Värde Partners fund, will take control over the realtor of the new holding company, after managing to swap its debt for equity stocks of the division which was completely unprofitable.

As the newspaper was informed, according to the announcement to be made today by the company, headed by Jacinto Rey, to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the conditions of the previous syndicated loan are breached and they must start all over again from scratch, leading to a new company with new owners in its real estate division.

Thus, the new agreement reached between the directors of Grupo San José and the creditor banks is divided into three parts: Firstly, the creation of a new holding company — Grupo Empresarial San José, under the leadership of the current president Jacinto Rey, which will assume a debt of 100 million euros; secondly, this holding will also own the construction company, with a debt amounting to 250 million; and thirdly, the so-called “unsustainable” debt (in financial terms) — over 1.2 billion — will remain in the real estate company. This debt originates from San José’s takeover bid from 2007 for the Valladolid-based realtor Parquesol, which is what Banco Popular, the Värde Partners and Marathon Asset Management funds will capitalize on.

The real estate division will thus become property of the creditor banks. 80% of it will be controlled by Popular, Värde and the Marathon fund. Banco Popular and Värde are going to integrate it into their real estate joint venture, where the former holds 49%, and the latter, 51%. The remaining 20% will be split among the rest of the creditors – JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and SAREB.

The agreement reached with its main creditors–Banco Popular and Värde–will boost the financial viability of the new business group, which will resume its traditional activities as a construction company but with a very limited amount of debt in order to continue with its expansion plan, especially towards Latin America.

Up until yesterday, San Jose had debt of over 1.6 billion. Its major creditor from the beginning was Banco Popular, with a debt amounting to 476 million (a figure that includes the part coming from Banco Pastor, which was acquired by Popular). Currently, Värde Partners, a partner headed by Angel Ron (its real estate and cards division) has become its largest creditor over recent months, holding claims to 52% of the total liabilities from the banking syndicate, i.e. 868 million.

The fund has been steadily doing away with most of the debt piled up by the company from the financial institutions that have been trying to get rid of it — Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, Barclays and Abanca. Bank of America has been the intermediary. Yesterday, Grupo San José rose 11.59% on the stock exchange, as the new agreement was coming.

Original article: ABC
Translation: Aura REE

CaixaBank And TPG To Revamp Servihabitat’s Board

02/01/2015 – El Mundo

CaixaBank and the US investment fund TPG have renewed the board of Servihabitat, the real estate company in which they are stockholders with a 49% and 51% stake, respectively. So, Anthony Michael Muscolino will continue to be president of the company on behalf of TPG, while Julian Moreno Cabanillas will go on as its CEO, appointed by both stakeholders.

Original article: El Mundo

Translation: Aura REE