Boadilla del Monte Sees A Flurry Of House Construction & Price Rises

13 June 2016 – El Confidencial

It’s been just over six months since, in October 2015, the Community of Madrid approved the General Urban Plan for Boadilla del Monte. The decision by Cristina Cifuentes released all of the construction permits that had been pending approval and gave the green light, once again, to the sale of land in one of the richest municipalities in Spain. It also marked the end of the development plans designed by the former mayor of Boadilla, Arturo González Panero, “the Albondiguilla”, imputed for the Gürtel case and against whom the prosecutor has just ordered 40 years in prison.

Since that Wednesday in October (28 October 2015), Boadilla del Monte has been a genuine real estate hotbed. Land sales have multiplied and the cranes have arrived in abundance. Buyers’ appetites have been so great that off-plan sales are practically covered and the first price rises have started to be seen – in some cases, close to double digits – for the new projects that are coming onto the market.

“The stars have aligned positively in Boadilla del Monte. Land there had been consolidated and developed and the only outstanding item was the approval of the General Plan, which was delayed due to the General Election. Once that had been ratified and blessed by the Community of Madrid, the new developments had the legal security to start without any problems”, explained Luis Corral, CEO of Foro Consultores.

The expert also thinks that the appeal of Boadilla has benefitted from the paralysis that, by contrast, its neighbour Pozuelo de Alarcón is experiencing. There, the new areas of development are currently awaiting the approval of a series of municipal infrastructures, such as the famous rain water collector, which is essential to meet the needs of the new neighbours. The infrastructure requires an investment of almost €60 million – double the amount predicted in 2007 –the cooperative owners that bought the land have to cover around €30 million and the other owners of the land and the Town Hall have to cover the remaining €25 million.

“The suspension of the largest development in Pozuelo has meant that much of the demand with medium-high purchasing power is moving to neighbouring towns such as Majadahonda and Boadilla del Monte”, said Samuel Población, the National Director of Residential and Land at the consultancy CBRE.

Price rises

(…). According to Luis Corral…”a family home or chalet in Boadilla costs around €450,000, on average, compared with between €700,000 and €1,000,000 in Pozuelo…”.

Although the supply of land is greater, the pressure from buyers due to the natural demand in Boadilla del Monte and the unmet demand in Pozuelo, will start to have an impact on prices. According to data from Foro Consultores, less than a year ago, in July 2015, the average price for chalets under cooperative regimes amounted to around €1,400 /sqm, whereas now the price has increased by around 7% to €1,500/sqm.

The same has happened with direct promotions. In July 2015, the price per sqm amounted to around €1,500 and now, it has increased to €1,600/sqm. In other words, prices have risen by 6%. At first sight, these prices do not seem at all exorbitant, however the homes are all very large and so the final price is not suitable for all budgets.

Four hot spots in Boadilla

In this Madrilenian municipality, one of the richest in Spain, there are four hot spots where all of the real estate activity is happening: El Pastel, Las Cárcavas, Cortijo Sur and Cortijo Norte. (…).

“El Pastel has been completely urbanised, it is full of cranes and families are already living there. Las Cárcavas is slightly behind, but the first homes are already being handed over and there are also a few people living there, whilst Cortijo Sur is also urbanised and under construction and the first homes will be handed over within the next few weeks. Cortijo Norte is the most delayed, it has not been urbanised yet, although work has begun on the urbanisation project. Family homes are being constructed in every area”, explained Luis Corral. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by Elena Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake