Andalucía, a Favourite Destination for New Builds with More than 26,000 Homes under Construction

The suspension of construction work in Andalucía brought to a standstill 989 projects comprising 26,195 homes, equivalent to 20% of all the homes under construction in Spain at the moment. Malaga is home to 50% of that activity.

In April of this year alone, 1,322 new homes were scheduled to be completed across 76 projects in Andalucía, according to data compiled by the Brainsre Big Data real estate platform. Despite the return to work on Monday 13 April, following a fifteen-day suspension, finishing those homes on time is going to prove quite the challenge.

At the end of March, when the Spanish Executive stopped all non-essential economic activity in Spain, there were 4,809 developments and 131,471 homes under construction across the country. Of those, 20% are located in the autonomous region of Andalucía, with one clear focus of concentration: the Costa del Sol. And Malaga is the driving force, with more than 13,000 homes in the pipeline. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, the building work must resume.

It just so happens that the four property developers with the most homes under construction in Spain -Neinor Homes, Aedas Homes, Vía Célere and Metrovacesa- are also the firms with the highest percentage of their residential portfolios under construction in Andalucía. Those percentages exceed other regions such as Madrid and Cataluña.

“More than half of the homes, up to 60% of the portfolio under construction, form part of medium-sized developments – those comprising more than 50 units-, with a specific weight in the area where they are being built,” says Antonio Ramudo, Data Scientist at Brainsre. In total, there are 173 developments with 15,790 units in progress.

Work began on most of the homes in 2019

It is worth noting that work started on more than half of the homes in the pipeline in 2019, specifically 59% of the total. In 2018, 5,819 units were started; last year, 15,356 homes were launched; and this year, before the State of Emergency began, 5,020 units had been initiated.

In terms of the completion of projects, the data illustrates the urgency to finish, since there are then the licensing procedures to complete ahead of the final delivery. In this way, the completion of 12,820 units was planned for 2020. As such, almost half of the homes under construction were expected to be completed this year, a figure that is above the national average. Given the delay due to the State of Emergency, the completion of many of those properties will now be delayed until 2021, whose delivery rate will be altered to reflect these delays, Ramudo explains.

In fact, 12,155 homes were expected to be finished in 2021, and another 1,085 in 2022. 

By type

53% of the developments that were suspended are made up of multi-family dwellings (524 developments and 20,944 homes), 43% are single-family homes (430 developments and 1,490 homes) and just 2% are developments dedicated entirely to social housing (20 developments and 1,055 homes).

“The low volume of social housing under construction in the region stands out since only 4% of the homes under development are destined for such purposes, whereas the national average is 8%,” says Antonio Ramudo.

Málaga in the lead

By province, it is worth noting that 50% of the new homes being constructed in Andalucía are located in the province of Malaga. More than 13,000 homes were underway there, distributed over 497 sites, when Royal Decree 10/2020 came into force.

Cádiz and Sevilla are home to another 30% of the residential properties under construction, with 3,900 and 3,800 homes respectively. They are followed by Córdoba, Almería and Granada, with between 1,500 and 1,650 homes each and, then by Huelva and Jaén, with 352 and 232 homes, respectively.

If we look at the distribution of new build projects at the municipal level, work on 3,436 homes was suspended in Málaga capital alone. There, the main focus of concentration of the units under construction are the Teatinos neighbourhood and Parque Martiricos, where almost 600 homes are currently being built on the site of the former Citesa factory, says the Data Scientist from Brainsre.

The Costa del Sol, the centre of the new home boom

The reason why the province of Malaga is home to half of the residential properties under construction in Andalucía is because it represents the centre of the Costa del Sol boom. In fact, 6 of the 8 Andalucían municipalities with the most suspended homes are located in the province. Behind the aforementioned capital, Estepona has 2,655 homes underway, whilst Mijas, Fuengirola, Marbella and Vélez-Málaga have between 800 and 1,300 homes each.

The presence of Cádiz in second place on the list of Andalucían provinces with the most new build projects on hold comes about due to the high concentration of construction projects in coastal municipalities such as Tarifa, Rota and San Roque (Sotogrande). They are each home to more units under construction than the provincial capital itself.

Meanwhile, in Sevilla, the construction of 1,753 homes, spread over 43 developments, was suspended. The majority are located in Sevilla Este where more than 700 homes are being built by ASG Homes, Q21 and Habitat; and Aedas Homes is working on another 260 homes in Hacienda El Rosario, whereby grouping the new construction focus to the east of ​​the Andalucían capital.

Up to 132 municipalities out of Andalucía’s 786 municipalities (17% of the total) have had new residential construction projects suspended.

The 4 large property developers concentrate their supply in the region

It just so happens that the four property developers with the most homes under construction in Spain -Neinor Homes, Aedas Homes, Vía Célere and Metrovacesa- also have the highest percentage of their residential portfolio under construction in Andalucía. Those percentages exceed other regions such as Madrid and Cataluña.

Metrovacesa was the property developer most affected by the suspension of work in Andalucía, with more than 30 projects underway comprising almost 1,800 homes. The Madrid-based property developer’s stock of homes under construction in Andalucía is widely scattered across the region with building sites located in 15 different municipalities.

In fact, Andalucía is the market where Metrovacesa currently has the most homes under construction, since 48% of its units are being built in the region. This fact, and the announcement of the implementation of the ‘Isla Natura’ project in 2019, through which Metrovacesa plans to build 2,900 homes in the south of Sevilla, are proof of the developer’s commitment to Andalucía.

In the case of Neinor Homes, 32% of its residential portfolio under construction is located in Andalucía. The Basque property developer has a very concentrated supply on the Costa del Sol, where 80% of its homes in the region are distributed, between the municipalities of Málaga, Marbella, Casares, Estepona and Vélez-Málaga.

Vía Célere also has the largest proportion of its construction portfolio located in Andalucía, with 31% of its future properties being erected there. Like Neinor Homes, it also has a high concentration of units on the Costa del Sol, with 87% of its homes in the region located there.

Finally, Aedas Homes has a similar percentage of its residential portfolio under construction in Andalucía, with 27% of the firm’s total located in the region, which is also its largest market. Aedas’s assets under construction in Andalucía are more dispersed than those of Neinor Homes or Vía Célere since it has important projects in Sevilla and Granada, as well as on the coast.

Andalucía’s Government to Approve New Hotel Regulations to Guarantee Investment in the Sector

The regional government estimates that 74 projects involving a total investment of €1.6 billion are awaiting the new legislation, which will regulate the classification of hotels in Andalucía.

Help the hotel sector by introducing legislation that will attract investors. That is the ultimate goal of the Andalucían Government, which has decided to continue to process new legislation for the hotel industry in the region.

According to the region’s Minister of Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration, Juan Marín, the regional hotel regulation decree will not be affected by the cessation in rule-making due to the State of Emergency decreed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “We have managed to reactivate it remotely by recovering legal reports from the Ministry and by speeding up the launch for the approval of the hotel decree to guarantee significant investment in the sector over the coming years,” said Marín.

Málaga Leads the Construction Sector in Andalucía with an Occupancy Rate of 88%

10 May 2019 – Expansión

Málaga is leading the ranking of house sales in Andalucía with 32,438 transactions and a market share of 32%, almost doubling that of its nearest rival, Sevilla (17.4%).

According to the participants of the round table organised by the Association of Property Developers and Construction Companies in Málaga (pictured above), the province is currently the driving force behind the construction sector and is home to some of the highest employment rates in the country (88.5%). That means that the sector now employs 62,700 people of the 70,200 surveyed in the Active Population Survey (EPA) when just five years ago, that figure amounted to just 57%.

In terms of the challenges facing the sector, the most important ones are rising rental prices and the generation of buildable land. In this context, the General Secretary for Housing at the Junta de Andalucía, Alicia Martínez, took advantage of the round table event to announce a new housing plan called ‘Plan Vive Andalucía’, which includes a greater commitment to affordable housing, the reactivation of obsolete urban areas and the promotion of R&D in the sector, amongst other initiatives.

Original story: Expansión (by Juan A. Gómez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Property Developers are Building 18,000+ Homes in Andalucía

18 March 2019 – ABC Sevilla

The real estate market in Andalucía is booming, and in a good way. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Development, 12,363 permits were granted in 2017 for the construction of new homes, compared with the record before the burst of the bubble of 156,483 in 2006. Construction activity is responding to real demand in the market and is featuring some new players that are planning to build thousands of new homes in the region over the next three years.

Two markets

The investors, which include international funds and local property developers alike, differentiate between two markets – the eastern (Málaga) and the western (Sevilla) – the former accounts for 70% of new developments.

Aedas Homes currently leads the regional ranking by number of homes planned and investments forecast in the autonomous region. The property developer controlled by the US fund Castlelake plans to invest almost €1.3 billion in the region in the construction of 5,150 homes, primarily in the provinces of Málaga (2,600 homes) and Sevilla (1,800).

It is followed by Neinor Homes, which owns a portfolio of 29 plots for the construction of 3,628 homes; Metrovacesa, which has 2,300 homes in its Andalucían portfolio at various stages of completion; and Vía Célere, controlled by another US fund Värde, which is building 1,975 homes across 21 developments.

Meanwhile, ASG Homes has buildable land in Andalucía for the construction of 1,700 homes; Habitat Inmobiliaria, owned by the US investment fund Bain Capital, is working on the construction of 15 developments containing 1,621 homes; and the Sevillan property developer Insur is working on 17 residential developments comprising 1,136 homes at various stages of completion.

Finally, Q21 Real Estate, the property developer created from the alliance of the US fund Baupost and the owners of the former Pinar group, is also constructing almost 500 homes in the region, bringing the total number of homes under construction to more than 18,000.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by Encarna Freire)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Brexit Deters Brits from Buying Homes in Andalucía

17 March 2019 – ABC Sevilla

The residential market in Andalucían is booming, despite the slowdown in demand from British buyers. The regional market is split into two clear segments – the market for second-hand homes for holiday use along the Costa del Sol, centred around Marbella and Estepona – and the market for primary residences across the rest of the autonomous region, where Málaga, Córdoba and Sevilla stand out with the most activity.

In the former, despite the decrease in demand from British purchasers due to Brexit, there has been a notable increase in buyers from the north of Europe, especially from Belgium and the Nordic countries.

In the latter, the local population, which primarily comprises families aged between 45 and 55 years old, with savings and stable incomes, is driving demand. For example, house sales in Córdoba grew by 16% in 2018, according to INE.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by E. Freire)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

ASG Homes Sets its Sights for Growth on Andalucía

12 March 2019 – ABC Sevilla

ASG Homes, which manages and develops projects for the British fund ActivumSG, owns a stock of land on which it could build 5,000 homes in Spain, making it the seventh or eighth largest property developer in the country by land bank. It largest regional presence is in Andalucía, where it owns land on which to build 1,700 homes, with Sevilla and, specifically, Sevilla Este, accounting for the majority of those plots, where it has capacity for 1,200 homes.

According to the CEO of ASG Homes, Víctor Pérez Arias (pictured above), his firm currently has 600 homes under construction in Sevilla, Estepona and Marbella, whose prices will range between €140,000 and €300,000. Moreover, it is also looking to repeat its activity in Sevilla and so is searching for land to purchase along the coasts of Málaga, Cádiz and Huelva. It is also interested in opening a hotel in Sevilla.

According to Pérez Arias, there is a shortage of buildable land across Spain, which is causing demand to exceed supply, and as such, prices to increase. The delays involved in processing building permits to convert developable land into finalist land is not helping either. In some cases, rather than taking up to 6 months, as permitted by law, those procedures are taking up to 14 or 15 months.

In light of the high level of demand in the rental market, ASG Homes is starting to work on projects in the residential rental market. Besides homes, ASG also promotes shopping centres, student halls, hotels and serviced apartments.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by María Jesús Pereira)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Andalucía’s Property Market is Operating at Four Speeds

3 March 2019 – ABC Sevilla

According to INE, more than 100,000 homes were sold in Andalucía in 2018, a figure not seen since 2008. That figure represented an increase of 13.1% YoY, but growth was far from uniform across the region.

The main driver was the province of Málaga, where almost 32,500 homes were sold last year, up by 5% YoY. In fact, Málaga, along with Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante and Valencia accounted for almost 40% of all house sales in Spain as a whole in 2018 (with 235,000 sales between the five provinces).

Elsewhere in Andalucía, 17,626 homes were sold in the province of Sevilla, up by 19% YoY. Its rate of growth was higher than in Málaga since the recovery started there two years later.

In this sense, Francisco Martínez-Cañavate, President of Fadeco Promotores (pictured above), points out that “there is a lot of demand in the province of Málaga; then there is a second speed in Sevilla; a third in Cádiz, Granada and Almería; and finally a fourth in Córdoba, Huelva and Jaén”.

Original story: ABC Sevilla (by E. Freire)

Summary/Translation: Carmel Drake

Exxacon to Invest €200M in the Construction of 741 Homes in Andalucía & Madrid

28 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Exxacon Smart Living is stepping on the accelerator to expand its business. The Andalucían property developer, specialising in the residential market, is going to invest €200 million over the next four years to build 741 homes, distributed over twelve new developments in Andalucía and Madrid.

Within the coming weeks, the firm is going to unveil Living Colmenar, in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid), its first development outside of the Málaga and Costa del Sol area. The project will receive investment of €32 million for the development of a 156-home residential complex, the largest to be constructed by the company to date.

Exxacon, founded in Marbella in 2000 by Gastón Aigneren, the company’s current CEO and Chairman, is launching its expansion plan for the period 2019-2022, but at the same time will continue studying and considering investment in other markets, such as Valencia and Sevilla, according to sources at the company.

After consolidating its business on the Costa del Sol, the entry of the company into the residential market in the Community of Madrid is the real estate firm’s next challenge. The idea is to begin marketing Living Colmenar, which will have a buildable surface area of 17,400 m2, between March and April, and to start construction at the end of 2019.

The complex is going to be built on a plot acquired by Exxacon on Calle Alvarado in Colmenar Viejo, a municipality located to the north of the Community of Madrid, 39 kilometres from the centre of the capital. Living Colmenar will be a residential complex comprising 156 homes with various shared services, including: three swimming pools, a gym, a padel and fronton court and a children’s playground (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Roger Arnau)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aedas Homes Buys Land in Granada on which to Build 600 Homes

6 December 2018 – Eje Prime

Aedas is expanding its presence in Andalucía. The listed Spanish property developer has purchased land in Granada, on which it is going to build 600 homes over the coming years. The plots are located in two expansion areas of the Nasrid capital, according to a statement issued by the company.

The property developer is going to start work on the construction of the first homes during the first quarter of 2019, within the West Railway area, an urban development where construction has been suspended for more than a decade. Now, the Town Hall has unblocked the land and the company is working on its urbanisation.

The other plot of land acquired by Aedas in Granada is located in the so-called North Rim N3, an area to the north of the urban nucleus of the capital, where the property developer has the objective of starting the urbanisation project next summer.

Recently, the company began the sale of its sixth development in Sevilla and Málaga capital, where it made its debut with 87 new homes in the Teatinos neighbourhood, one of the trendy areas of the Málagan region.

Aedas owns a portfolio of finalist land spanning more than 1.5 million m2 for the construction of more than 14,500 homes across the country, in the Central region as well as in Cataluña, Levante, the Balearic Islands and Andalucía.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Metrovacesa to Invest €40M in the Construction of 180 New Homes in Córdoba

27 November 2018 – Eje Prime

Metrovacesa has already set up its first cranes in Córdoba. The Spanish property developer has started work on the Las Terrazas de Poniente Sur Residential complex, the first in a series of three projects that the company has underway in the city. In total, the real estate firm is going to build more than 180 homes, with an investment of €40 million in the capital of the Andalucian province.

The company is going to build 120 homes in its first development in Córdoba. On that site, located in the Parque Cruz Conde neighbourhood, the company is going to build flats with between one and five bedrooms, in a building comprising a ground floor and six upper floors. In the common areas, the development will have an outdoor swimming pool, a padel court, a garden and a children’s playground.

Metrovacesa’s commitment to the Andalucían city reflects the fact that Córdoba is “one of the Spanish cities with the highest demand for residential properties at the moment”, said the property developer in a statement.

Besides the Las Terrazas de Poniente Sur Residential development, the company is already marketing Villas de Alhakén, a development comprising 21 single-family homes in the El Brillante neighbourhood. Meanwhile, it is finalising matters to obtain the urban planning licence for Mirador de la Albaida, a residential development comprising forty homes, which will have views of the mountains in Córdoba.

Commitment to Andalucía 

The start of the work in Córdoba is strengthening Metrovacesa’s commitment to Andalucía, where 45% of the company’s land portfolio is located. In Eastern Andalucía alone, the property developer has land on which to build 6,000 homes, of which 4,000 units will be promoted along the Costa del Sol.

The objective of the property developer over the medium term is to generate revenues of €1 billion by 2020, and to increase that figure to €1.5 billion over the following years, according to sources speaking to EjePrime.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake