Tag: affordable housing

Construction Companies Look for Land in the Canary Islands for 2,000 Subsidised Homes

3 October 2018

The Association of Construction Companies is analysing Sareb’s real estate portfolio, which includes 2,900 properties on the Islands.

The builders are looking for land in the Canary Islands to finalise a “quick and complementary” housing plan before the end of the year that benefits the most disadvantaged segments of the population. The Association of Construction Companies and Developers of the Province of Las Palmas (AECP) met yesterday with a delegation from the Bank Restructuring Asset Management Company (Sareb), Spain’s so-called bad bank, to analyse the company’s assets on the Islands and potentially acquire the land necessary to follow through on their plan.

The president of the association, María de la Salud Gil, stated that the construction of some 2,000 subsidised homes, both for sale and for rent, is the goal of the initiative. “We have decided to develop a public-private housing policy and treat housing needs from a generalised perspective, creating a housing policy capable of serving every stratum of the population in function of their profiles,” she stated. For this, the builders are negotiating with different financial entities and developers to locate plots of land and “unfinished assets.”

Ms Gil explained before the meeting that the Government of the Canary Islands has full powers and jurisdiction in housing matters. “Therefore, it can structure procedurally agile rules and eliminate all the bureaucracy surrounding the creation of subsided housing.” She also stressed that housing and developments must attend three basic parameters: price per square meter, people who may buy or rent the properties and any support received by the interested parties.

Real estate assets

Sareb, which was formed in 2012, as a result of the nationalisation of four Spanish banks, has assets in the archipelago valued at 240 million euros. The portfolio is made up of some 2,900 properties, including land and housing, representing 2.5% of the company’s holdings in the country as a whole. Sareb has one thousand homes and 300 plots of land in Las Palmas, while it has 450 houses and 130 plots of land in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The value of Sareb’s loans, which are secured by properties, is €550 million. In the Islands, the so-called bad bank has about 1,000 financial assets, representing 2% of the company’s total.

Ms Gil also explained that the development of subsidised housing is not linked with the construction of free housing or any size of homes. “It’s not just about building subsidised housing; it’s about addressing the housing market from a universal perspective,” she said. Even so, she explained that the association is trying to convince developers not to abandon subsidised housing because she believes that it helps “structure and balance the market and rental prices.”

Despite noting that the sector is currently held back by the delay in signing the pending state agreements, the president of the AECP stated that the construction industry already has “the muscle” to address the initiative.

Original Story: La Opinión de Tenerife – A. Rodríguez

Translation: Richard Turner

Euskadi Will Be Allowed to Expropriate Homes That Remain Uninhabited for More Than Two Years

2 October 2018

The Constitutional Court endorsed fundamental aspects of the Basque housing law that the PP government appealed in 2016.

The Constitutional Court (TC) has endorsed the ability of the Basque Government (Euskadi) and regional municipalities to proceed with the forced expropriation of homes that remain uninhabited for a period of more than two years without just cause and are located in areas where there is a proven demand for public or social housing. The institutions will have the power to place the properties on the social housing rental market when a need is found in the areas they are located.

“This does not mean that the Government or the municipalities are going to move ahead with a wave of expropriations,” the Basque housing councillor, socialist Iñaki Arriola, stressed. The pronouncement by Spain’s highest court let a decree stand that would permit the forced rental of homes in areas that have remained unoccupied for an extended period and where there is an elevated demand for social housing. It is, said Arriola, a “balance between policies incentivising social housing and punitive measures in the case where properties, such as housing, are not adequately put to use.”

The latest census of empty and uninhabited homes in the Basque territory will be made public tomorrow by the councillor, who has so far declined to cite the figure. The previous report, with data for 2015, noted that there were 86,325 empty dwellings (8.3% of all Basque households). Of these, almost a third (32%) were used as seasonal housing, and the remaining 68% were classified as unoccupied. Of the 58,697 unoccupied homes, more than half (35,647) were not on the market to rent or sell.

Homes will not be considered unoccupied when they are second homes and when their inhabitants are temporarily absent due to relocations stemming for work, health, dependency and social emergency reasons that justify the absence, Arriola said. Before declaring a dwelling unoccupied, the relevant institution must open a file, summon the owners for a hearing and later determine whether the situation merits forcibly placing the property on the social housing market through a temporary expropriation.

The Government of the PP appealed the Basque Housing Law in 2016 before the Constitutional Court, requesting that the court rule that several of the law’s precepts exceeded the regional government’s powers and encroached on the powers of the Spanish state. The Basque law, which establishes the subjective right to dispose of a home, was approved in June 2015 on the initiative of the PSE with the support of EH Bildu and UPyD. The PNV and the PP voted against the measure.

The last census stated that there are 58,697 uninhabited homes in Euskadi, the Basque territory

The appeal by Rajoy’s government was based on the fact that the Basque legislation imposes a new form of regulatory oversight on the right to own property, stating that ownership brings with it the duty to inhabit the residence. The State Attorney challenged 13 articles and several sections, most of which refer to the definition of uninhabited housing and the regional government’s tools for dealing with those unoccupied households and which are considering to be in contravention of their social function as established by law.

Councillor Arriola stated that the TC’s ruling validates “without any restriction” the ability of Basque institutions to intervene with unoccupied dwellings that “do not fulfil a social function.” The regulations give the Basque Government and municipalities the ability to determine when a house is considered to be uninhabited and provides those institutions with the instruments “to encourage their occupation or penalise their lack of use.”

The Minister of Housing approved of the court’s ruling which, in his opinion, grants the Basque government the “full jurisdiction” to regulate the sector with legal certainty. The court, however, also ruled that the article granting financial institutions, their real estate subsidiaries and asset management entities the ability to subject property owners to forced expropriation for the temporary use of dwellings subject to eviction proceedings for foreclosure is unconstitutional.

Original Story: El País – Mikel Ormazabal

Photo: Luis Sevillano

Translation: Richard Turner

Barcelona’s Town Hall Declares the Whole City an Area of First Refusal for Land & Property Purchases

2 October 2018 – Inmodiario

The plenary session of the Town Hall of Barcelona has approved two pioneering measures to defend its citizens’ right to housing: firstly, it will apply protected status to 30% of new developments and major renovations; and secondly, it will declare the whole city as an area of first refusal, with the objective of ensuring that the Town Hall will be able to acquire buildings and plots of land on a preferential basis.

Both measures have received support from Barcelona’s municipal groups En Comú, El Grup Municipal Demòcrata, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, El Partido de los Socialistas de Cataluña, La CIP – Capgirem Barcelona and the two councillors not assigned to a party, Gerard Ardanuy and Juanjo Puigcorbé, who have voted in favour of the measure. The Partido Popular de Cataluña voted against it. Ciudadanos voted in favour of declaring the entire municipality an area of first refusal but abstained from the vote to apply protected status to 30% of new projects.

The 30% reservation will represent an expansion of the public housing stock, especially in central neighbourhoods that suffer the most from real estate speculation and gentrification, and where the lack of available plots makes the construction of social housing extremely difficult. It is estimated that with the new regulation more than 50% of the new affordable homes will be located in those neighbourhoods.

Right of first refusal

That measure is accompanied by the declaration of the entire city as an area of first refusal, to enable the Town Hall to acquire plots and buildings on a preferential basis – which would include those 30% of protected homes – to expand the stock of public housing distributed across all districts.

The initiative, which involves the private sector, will affect both new buildings and major renovation projects exceeding 600 m2. Therefore, private property developers will be co-responsible when it comes to ensuring the right to citizens of a decent and adequate home.

It is expected that with the 30% reservation, around 330 homes will be incorporated into the stock of affordable housing each year, a figure that will help counter the abusive increases in rental prices (…).

The protected homes will operate under a general framework and it is calculated that 75% of Barcelona’s citizens will be able to access them. The affordable price of homes, which La Generalitat would determine, would currently be €512/month for an 80 m2 rental home and €136,400 in the case of a home purchase.

Social claim

These new regulations have been born out of the claim from entities that defend the right to a decent home and which have given a voice to the demand from citizens to put a stop to the real estate speculation that is forcing residents out of their neighbourhoods (…).

Original story: Inmodiario 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Barcelona Activates 72 Public Plots for the Construction of 4,644 Affordable Rental Homes

11 September 2018 – Inmodiario

The activation of new public developments forms part of the Plan for the Right to Housing 2016-2025, and the current data indicates a level of output never seen before in terms of the construction of new homes for public rental in the city (of Barcelona).

On the basis of all the actions planned, the municipal Government will increase the public stock of affordable rental homes in the city by 50% in six years.

72 projects

The 72 projects underway have been accelerated in recent years, and 80% of the public housing that is going to be constructed will constitute affordable rental properties.

Construction of 11 of the developments has now been completed, comprising 648 homes, some of which have already been handed over. In other cases, the final procedures are being completed so that they can be handed over to the families soon.

On thirteen public plots, construction work has begun or permission has been granted for the construction of 574 homes. The package of projects includes both those developments that are in the process of being awarded to construction companies and those that have already been built.

On 29 of the plots, public tenders to select the companies to carry out the projects have already started; the work on those sites will generate 2,331 homes. Finally, 19 other developments are in the preparation phase, and the procedures to carry out their public tenders have been started with a view to building 1,091 new homes.

More affordable homes in the medium term

In addition to the 72 plots mentioned above, work is being performed on 52 other sites to activate the construction of homes over the medium term; they are in different phases of the urban planning process to ensure that they are dedicated to the right to housing service (…).

With the objective of growing the stock of public housing still further and bringing it in line with those of other European cities, it is hoped that a group of sites pending planning permission will be granted the condition of plots so that they can also be dedicated to the construction of public housing. Most of those sites are located in areas of the city that are already undergoing transformation, such as La Marina, 22@ and La Sagrera.

Municipal resources for rental housing

In just 8 years, the growth in the stock of rental housing is going to add as many new homes for public rental as have been created over the last 80 years. Moreover, the process is mainly being carried out (95%) using municipal resources, and with support from the European public bank, given that the participation of the Generalitat de Catalunya and of the State is at its lowest level since 1981.

Besides the construction of public housing and management of land permits, the Town Hall has boosted the acquisition of homes through various instruments established to that end in the governing legislation, such as the right of first refusal, direct purchase and assignment of usufruct.

In this context, 531 homes have been purchased and another 251 are in the process of being acquired. By the end of the current mandate, more than 750 homes are expected to have been purchased and €70 million will have been invested using municipal resources only (…).

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Helena Beunza, General Secretary for Housing: “The Government Is Not Looking at Limiting Rental Prices”

9 August 2018

Helena Beunza has just arrived from the Valencian government to her new position as the General Secretary for Housing within the Ministry of Public Works. Like many other people who come to Madrid, she had to look for a flat. The PSOE-affiliated minister, responsible for housing policy in Spain, decided to rent.

An idealista/news exclusive interview with the new General Secretary for Housing at the Ministry of Public Works. We went deeper into the measures previously announced by the Minister José Luis Ábalos regarding rental policy, an increasingly important market for the sector and the Spanish government; the current state of Spain’s stock of housing, especially empty houses; the articulation of urban planning and the future of social housing in the country.

The current government wants to reformulate its housing policies to align them with the current state of the rental housing market. Ever more Spanish households are opting to rent, whether it is by need or conviction, and the sector requires better regulation.

The minister José Luis Ábalos already announced in the Congress of Deputies that the current government intends to upend the residential rental market with three big sets of reforms:

On the one hand, the government intends to amend the Urban Rental Act (LAU), which was signed into law in 2013 under the government of the PP. “In this amendment, we would return once again to a model of five-year contracts and three-year extensions. We would also revisit the regulations for security deposits,” Helena Beunza summarised. “On the other hand, we will establish a generalised understanding of the holiday home and tourist rental sector, so that the relevant authorities can then define the corresponding legal regimes in each Regional Community,” she said.

Action plan for 20,000 subsidised rental homes

The Minister of Development also announced the Spanish government’s initiative to allocate 20,000 subsidised homes to the rental market for young people and low-income families in those areas where the rental price has skyrocketed.

“It is a very ambitious project that not only covers legislation but the management on the part of the State at a fundamental level, in coordination with the Regional Communities and the city councils,” the general secretary noted. “Obviously, this measure alone will not solve the problem. These 20,000 homes, which will involve both new construction and renovations, are not enough, but it is a way to begin working with town councils and the CCAA (Regional Communities) for the creation of a public stock of rental housing that can be managed both publicly and through public-private partnerships,” Ms Beunza clarified.

The third group of measures that are important to highlight are the those aimed at improving the transparency of the Spanish real estate market. We know that greater access is needed, for everyone, to data and added information not just regarding the housing market, but also that for land.

Regarding taxes, we will work with the IRPF and with the IBI

To coordinate all these measures, the Ministry of Development will participate in an interministerial working group to define the legislative and tax policies that will be implemented in the housing sector. “It’s too early to talk about concrete measures. Those measures are expected to emerge from the discussions held within the interministerial working group. Regarding taxes, we will work with the IRPF and with the IBI, but the Ministry of Finance will have a leading role regarding the formulation of the tax measures that we would eventually adopt.”

Minister Ábalos stated that improvements to the tax regime associated with housing, which will go back to offering tax deductions (IRPF) and incentives to encourage property owners to place their homes on the rental market. Although it will be his colleague, María Jesús Montero, at Treasury, who will decide upon and implement any measures.

Any measures that would impact the Real Estate Tax (IBI) would have to be included in the Revised Text of the Local Authority Regulation Act, and the town councils would have to decide on their application.

The government also announced that it has ruled out any artificial limits on rental market prices. “We must differentiate between limiting rental prices from the limitation of prices that are set as a mere reference. This government has no plans to consider these issues,” says the general secretary for housing at the Ministry of Public Works.

Another one of the measures that were discarded, and the secretary states that was not even discussed, is the calculation of the IRPF (income tax for individuals) accounting for rental income.

Expand legal protections for rentals

The government does not want to limit its work to tax matters, but also intends to look at improving the legal protections within the rental sector so that the small owners can have guarantees and adequate compensation for placing their home on the rental market.

“We have to work on legal protections for both landlords and tenants, for both parties,” says Helena Beunza. “We need policies that treat housing as what it is, a fundamental right. We would have liked that the existing current speedy eviction law contained additional measures to take into account families that are occupying a home because they needed housing since we need to differentiate that occupancy from other types of occupancies.”

Secretary Beunza believes that a great deal of work will be needed to coordinate the various administrations to find a housing solution for families at risk of social exclusion. “Families need to be evaluated, and there needs to be coordination with social services so that we can help the people that want to enter the system, and who can meet the necessary conditions to sign contracts for public housing.”

From tourist rentals to empty homes

Real estate experts and regular citizens have their opinions as to the cause of the increase in rental prices. Blame is usually given to the growth in tourist apartments, the high number of empty homes and the socimis investments in the residential market. The general secretary analysed each point.

“There is a multiplicity of causes that have come together at a given moment and that have given rise to the situation in which we find ourselves now. It is too simplistic to state that tourist rentals have been the sole determinant in the increase in rents. While that could have been the primary factor in some places, but it is a very specific impact in very specific areas. The same thing holds for the increases in rental prices. We cannot speak of similar increases throughout Spain, but there have been huge variations in the increases, depending on the regions and cities involved, “the minister added.

Certain regions have already created registries of both empty homes and people seeking homes. “Yes, it is true that there are a lot of empty homes in Spain. One empty home is already too much. However, the first thing we need to understand is exactly how much empty housing there is in Spain and then we can work together with the CCAA. We need to improve data and transparency,” Ms Beunza stated.

How VPO (subsidised housing) fits into the housing stock

The Government of Pedro Sánchez has had little room for manoeuvre since taking office but has also found that many policies and items were already approved, starting with the General Budgets for 2018.

Regarding housing, the previous Minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna, presented the general guidelines of the State Housing Plan for the period 2018-2021 last March. “It is not our plan, but we understood after listening to the CCAA that the priority was to sign the agreements so that the CCAA could begin to act on and process their files, mainly for calls for rental subsidies, which is he most urgent matter,” Secretary Beunza said.

The general secretary did criticise, however, is the current social housing plan (VPO), which the minister stated the PSOE would begin work on right away. “One of the issues that this Government has detected is the need to rethink the concept of official social housing. Moreover, we must take a look at all those lands which are already qualified in our country to be used in the VPO. In the current state housing plan, the word VPO does not appear.”

Land cannot again become a subject of speculation in this country

She also emphasised policies regarding land ready for development (finalist land). “We must coordinate our land policies with our housing policies because both the rental and sales markets need them to be aligned. Spain has land that is ready for development. That land is not necessarily where the developers want to build, but there is land in both Madrid and Barcelona. Another consideration is the price of that land. That is something we must consider because we can’t allow a repeat of what happened in our country before. Land cannot become a subject of speculation in this country again,” she argued.

Speaking of land, one of the biggest dilemmas facing the construction and real estate sectors also came up: the state of urban planning in Spain. “We must try to make the Spanish urban planning system more flexible and simplified. The State, although it is not directly responsible, has a clear will to define a path to accompany the CCAA (autonomous regions) in this process. We cannot take eight or 10 years to approve a general plan, simply because the economic and social reality of a particular city is not the same when a plan is approved as when it began to be written.”

The sector has been denouncing the amount of litigation in the construction industry for some time. “The problem is not just the litigation, but also but also the cascading annulments of planning instruments. It has generated a serious problem in our country since, when a general plan is annulled due to formal or material defects, the rest of the planning instruments also become null and void,” the general secretary explained.

The ministry intends to build upon the work of the previous Executive to articulate legislation that will increase legal protections and simplify urban planning.

The general secretary for housing still sees a lot of work ahead before a true state-level housing policy is defined. “There is so much to do regarding housing policies that we need to start at the beginning, and the foundations of housing policy at a state level in Spain do not yet exist,” the Secretary concluded.

Original Story: Idealista – David Marrero & Luis Manzano

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Basque Municipality Sells its First Plot for Flats in Zorrotzaurre for €6.3 Million

30 August 2018

Last week, the Bilbao City Council approved a measure to sell a plot of land to build a hundred homes.

The Governing Board of the Bilbao City Council approved last week a measure to sell its first plot of land for the development of homes, as a part of the so-called Zorrotzaurre operation. The measure specifies that the Municipality must obtain a minimum of 6.32 million euros with the objective to develop two buildings with a total of more than one hundred price-controlled homes.

Specifically, the almost 2,900-square-meter plot of land is denominated SI-1 and is located on the right bank of the Deusto canal, next to La Tomatera’s recently opened rowing pavilion.

Two buildings, totalling 10,500 square meters, will be erected on the plot of land, with two- to three-bedroom flats. Garage floors and underground storage rooms will occupy more than 5,600 square meters, and almost another thousand square meters will be allocated to commercial premises on the buildings’ ground floors. It is the first housing operation launched in Zorrotzaurre by the Bilbao City Council and serves to reinforce the construction of housing in an area of urban intervention.

It was the last plot of land that remained to be activated in the strip of riverbank that looks over the Deusto canal, located below the areas of Ibarrekolanda and Sarriko. With the decision of the Aburto team, the five plots of land defined in the reparcelling plan are already in different stages of development.

SI-2, which is located next to SI-1, is owned by Visesa, the Basque government’s development company for dependant housing. The design of the two controlled-price residential blocks has already been awarded to an architecture studio. This means that, in all probability, the buildings themselves will be built directly by the public entity itself. In this case, Visesa will opt for the same formula it used to build the Official Protected Housing (VPO) skyscrapers in Bolueta: take over the development of the buildings and sell the flats directly to the future owners.

Down the river, the other two sites, SI-3 and SI-4, are also showing heightened activity. The developer Jauregizar has been building four apartment blocks for almost a year, the first two already sold to VPO applicants who were on the Etxebide list, for a total of 99 homes. On the other hand, the 132 flats in the two adjoining buildings will be sold at a free market price. All were sold under a cooperative regime, within the ViveZorrozaurre.

Finished structures

At present, the construction company is working at a good rhythm. The structure of the four apartment blocks have been finished, and work is proceeding on the interiors. The buildings that will house the VPO have eight floors, plus the ground floor retail premises, while the free market flats have ten floors plus the ground floor premises.

The last lot of riverfront land, the one next to the Sarriko school, is also owned by Visesa and was sold last July. The publicly-owned company decided to tender the land to a private developer to build 153 market-priced homes. Visesa will obtain a good return for the SI-5 since the minimum bid for the site is 22.65 million euros.

As for the design of the buildings, although each one may be designed by different architectural studios, all the residential blocks will have to have a similar aesthetic.

The Zorrotzaurre Board had already decided more than two years ago that the entire urban intervention, both on the right bank of the Deusto canal and all the buildings that will arise on the island in the future, will again have to have a similar aesthetic.

The first element in common is the format of the building, which will be similar to a chromosome (a kind of H), which the deceased urbanist Zaha Hadid drew up in his Master Plan, in an attempt to have as many flats as possible facing the estuary. The second is that all the blocks will have a similar height, between eight and twelve floors.

Over the next five years, the new residential area on the shore of the Bilbao river will gradually grow until it covers a linear front of almost 550 meters in length, which will be the first joint settlement carried out under the Zorrotzaurre operation.

Original Story: Deia – Alberto G. Alonso

Translation: Richard Turner

 

The Sevilla City Council, through Emvisesa, Formalized the Purchase of 18 Empty, Private Houses for Social Uses at the Cost of More than One Million Euros

29 August 2018

The Municipal Housing Company of Sevilla, Emvisesa, concluded a purchase agreement for the acquisition of 18 of the homes it had been offered through its First Program for Acquisition of Empty Houses, at a total investment of 1,043,684 euros, plus adaptation works expected to cost 100,000 euros and the corresponding expenses and taxes.

“This is the fulfilment of another of this government’s commitments by which we received a good response in our quest to incorporate new flats to the housing stock to cover the social needs of the population of Sevilla, given that the existing municipal public housing is already completely occupied,” the delegate for Social Welfare and Employment, Juan Manuel Flores, explained.

After awarding more than 600 homes during the present municipal mandate, Emvisesa has allocated the totality of its housing stock. The result is a strategy of urgent expansion of the public housing stock and the new Sevilla Municipal Housing Plan (PMVS), establishing disparate intervention initiatives in the housing sector to favour access to housing by citizens and respond to different types of the population’s needs, among which is the acquisition of empty homes.

These 18 homes, located in different neighbourhoods of the city, are now added to the 63 obtained through the Ramón Carande land exchange project that have already been delivered to the City Council, as well as those achieved through the rental acquisition program and the agreements signed with banking entities. The objective is included in the Municipal Housing and Land Plan, which established financing of more than 11 million euros for the different acquisition programs by Emvisesa, the Urban Planning Management, Municipal Assets, in addition to external financing. The objective established in the PMVS, consisting of the capture of between 15 and 50 homes per year between 2018 and 2023, will be largely exceeded in 2018, as 81 empty homes have already been acquired.

Emvisesa is already finalising a new campaign to capture vacant homes that will be permanently open, in a similar way to how the Empty Housing Uptake Program (Rental) works. The operation was already approved at the last Municipal Plenary, and the bases for its approval are being finalised in the coming weeks.

These measures will allow the immediate expansion of the municipal stock of housing alongside others planned in the PMVS, such as the development of more than more than 1,000 protected homes through new construction and rehabilitation.

Original Story: Emvisesa

Translation: Richard Turner

 

La Caixa’s Subsidiary Inmo Criteria Negotiates Purchase of Tertiary Plot in 22@

6 June 2018 – Eje Prime

More and more operations are being negotiated in the 22@ district of Barcelona. The latest to join the party is La Caixa, which, through its real estate subsidiary Inmo Criteria, is negotiating the purchase of a plot in 22@ on which it plans to build two office buildings with an above ground surface area of 27,000 m2, according to sources close to the operation speaking to Eje Prime. Although no more details have been disclosed at this stage, the price of the operation could amount to €34 million and will have also caught the attention of another group, namely Glenwell Group, which specialises in opportunities in the Spanish real estate sector, according to the same sources.

Nevertheless, Inmo Criteria is the best-positioned player to acquire this plot. If the operation goes ahead, then the real estate arm of La Caixa will acquire a plot of land located on the block of Calle Ávila y Badajoz, where two buildings are planned, spanning 14,500 m2 and 12,500 m2, respectively. The plots are owned by several owners, including the Miette Group, which declined to comment on the negotiation process.

According to sources close to the operation, the price being considered for the purchase of this land is, approximately, €1,250/m2, which would mean that for 27,000 m2, the buyer could end up spending between €33 million and €34 million. If Inmo Criteria does acquire the plot, it will carry out the promotion and marketing of the offices and will entrust the construction work to a third party, like a large number of groups in the sector do, such as Colonial for example.

Inmo Criteria is the owner of a portfolio of properties with a net value of €2.8 billion, of which €505 million are classified as available-for-sale, €605 million as rental properties, €1,146 million as land and €557 million dedicated to affordable housing programs. The portfolio of properties is managed by InmoCaixa, a company that belongs 100% to CriteriaCaixa (…).

Land in 22@ is highly sought-after

Land in 22@ has attracted attention from a large number of operators, who have invested in the district to promote new residential and office buildings. One example is La Llave de Oro, which signed the purchase of a plot measuring 3,330 m2 in the 22@ district of Barcelona in April for €22 million. On that plot, which had been owned by Metrovacesa, the group plans to build 17,400 m2 of offices (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

What Impact Will the Housing Plan Have on Construction?

25 March 2018

For the first time, Spain’s Housing Plan may create incentives for private housing developments. Specifically, the Spanish government included subsidies of up to 36,750 euros per home that developers build for the residential long-term rental market in the program.

The government intends to boost the stock of residential housing in Spain, at a time when growing demand and the shortage of new housing are pushing prices up in some cities. Developers are cheering the measure, but question whether it will have a significant impact on the market.

Alberto Delgado, director of operations at Aedas Homes, noted that it is “vital to shorten the deadlines for the processing of the different licenses involved in the construction of homes and the creation of building-ready land.” In his opinion, “the delays in licensing and the shortage of building-ready land are two of the big obstacles that builders face. In a recent statement to the CNMV, the developer, which will sell 2,000 homes this year, said it took an average of six months for a construction license to be granted. In regions such as the Costa del Sol, this period can last up to eight months.

Increased costs

Neinor Homes took a similar position, stating that the measures included in the Housing Plan are unlikely “to affect the sector.” “Public subsidies can be an additional supplement, but housing sales can only fully recover if employment continues to grow and young people have the purchasing power to buy their first home,” the developer explained.

Metrovacesa affirmed that the “measure is positive”, but that there is a “need” to put “new homes that respond to the demands of citizens” on the market. Referring to the Housing Plan, the company controlled by Banco Santander and BBVA explained that “it is still early to determine its impact, although these measures always help to boost the market.”

All three companies agree that the stock of homes that the market currently has on offer is “insufficient” in certain regions. Last year some 80,000 new construction permits were granted, a figure notably lower than the 150,000 that analysts believe the market requires to respond to the overall demand.

“It’s not easy, construction costs have grown 10% in the last year. There exists a lack of contractors and labour. We have few crews, and it is not easy to train new professionals,” a real estate consultancy stated.

Original Story: ABC – G. Ginés

Translation: Richard Turner

Junta de Andalucía Puts 33,000 m2 of Land Up For Sale in Córdoba

4 February 2018 – La Vanguardia

The Junta de Andalucía’s Ministry of Development and Housing has launched its first regional land sale of the year in the province of Córdoba, comprising 15 residential and industrial plots, which span 32,989 m2 in total and with an asking price of €5.8 million.

In this regard and in statements to Europa Press, the delegate for Housing and Development at the Junta in Córdoba, Josefina Vioque, said that “with this initiative, we are continuing our strategy of selling some of the land owned by the Agency for Housing and Rehabilitation in Andalucía (AVRA), which obtained such good results in 2017, with the award of almost 22,000 m2”.

The objective, according to Vioque, is “to generate revenues that allow us to strengthen the promotion of our activities of a social nature in terms of housing, especially the promotion of subsidised housing”.

This new tender for the sale of regional land includes seven plots classified as industrial and tertiary, measuring 10,871 m2, and eight units classified as residential, with capacity for 238 homes.

Of the latter, four are reserved for the construction of 188 social housing properties, on a surface area of 17,374 m2, whilst the other four, spanning 4,743 m2, have capacity for 50 private homes.

According to the delegate, the industrial plots are located in the municipalities of Adamuz, Cabra, El Carpio and Córdoba, whilst the social housing plots are located in the provincial capital and in Rute, and the private housing plots are also located in the capital and in the municipality of Obejo.

The tender, which will be open for the presentation of proposals until 1 March, and which will be resolved after the envelopes are opened, scheduled for 12 March, at AVRA’s central headquarters in Sevilla, also includes nine retail premises and 19 parking spaces in Córdoba, Lucena and Rute.

According to Vioque, “the drive to manage AVRA’s owned properties has become a priority since the start of this legislature, give our aim to put these assets on the market at the service of business initiatives, to promote economic development and the generation of employment in the construction sector, one of the hardest hit during the crisis”.

Josefina Vioque said that “with this initiative, the Junta also seeks to reactivate the construction of VPO homes, to facilitate access to housing for families in most need, since these operations are going to allow us to resume, once again, the promotion of these types of subsidised homes, which are more affordable for people with fewer resources”.

Land sold in 2017

This tender follows others carried out during 2017, which saw the award of a total surface area of 21,946 m2  and the generation of revenues amounting to €6 million (…).

Original story: La Vanguardia

Translation: Carmel Drake