Land Shortage Causes House Prices to Soar in Madrid

5 November 2017 – El Mundo

House prices are on the rise in Madrid, due to the shortage of available buildable land and the high pent-up demand (the Spanish capital is capable of absorbing around 10,000 new homes per year and just as many second-hand homes). That was one of the main conclusions from the meeting organised last week by El Mundo in collaboration with Distrito Castellana Norte (DCN) to analyse the likely impact of the 11,000 new homes that are being planned as part of Madrid Nuevo Norte, the official name for the project more commonly known as Operación Chamartín.

According to Luis Corral, CEO of Foro Consultores, Madrid Nuevo Norte is an “absolutely essential project for that area of Madrid”, because both of the existing urban developments, namely, Valdebebas and Arroyo del Fresno, as well as the neighbouring municipalities, Alcobendas and San Sebastían de los Reyes “have run out of land”. In his opinion, “anything that places this part of Madrid on the market is a good thing, even if it causes price inflation, as seen in Valdebebas, where homes now cost more than €3,000/m2″.

Beyond its importance from a residential perspective, “Madrid Nuevo Norte also involves a major urban regeneration project, which offers a golden opportunity to position Madrid as one of the greatest capital cities in Europe”, according to Carolina Roca, Vice-President of the Association of Property Developers in Madrid (Asprima). In this sense, the final plans – which will probably be approved during the course of next year – include the construction of a large business centre, as well as a major refit of Chamartín station (which will house the future headquarters of Adif and Renfe).

Although this is an ambitious project from every perspective, “the area to the north of Madrid has capacity to absorb much higher figures than the 11,000 homes currently forecast”, says Samuel Población, Head of Residential and Land at the consultancy firm CBRE. “The absorption rate that we have seen in Valdebebas in just five years serves as an example”, he adds.

Moreover, the current rates of house building confirm that demand is continuing to grow right across the Community of Madrid. Based on the number of construction permits granted, the region is currently building 22,000 properties per year, a figure that contrasts with the 80,000 properties that are going to be built in Spain as a whole in 2017. According to Roca, “property development is performing well in Madrid, but the same dynamism is not being replicated across the country and so, we are still a long way off the 150,000 homes per year that need to be built”. That means that the region “has doubled its weight, something that is not positive because Madrid cannot cope with the real estate business of the whole of Spain”.

But the main problem, according to the head of the Madrilenian property developers, is that the municipal authorities are not responding to this increase in demand by offering new plots of land. “The available buildable land will have been used up in three or four years and no one is performing the repositioning that is necessary for after that period”. (…).

The main consequence of the shortage of raw material in the hands of property developers “is a significant rise in the prices of plots, which end up being passed on in the form of more expensive house prices”, explains Población (…).

In this context, Corral also stressed the need to promote new urban developments as “generators of homes for the most disadvantaged households, as shown by the more than 2,200 social housing units included in Madrid Nuevo Norte (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Rubén G. López)

Translation: Carmel Drake

First Residents Move Into Arroyo del Fresno (Madrid)

30 December 2015 – El Mundo

The new PAU (‘Programa de Actuación Urbanística’ or Urban Planning Program) in Arroyo del Fresno, located in the North of Madrid, has started to receive its first residents. CP Grupo and Amenabar have begun to hand over the keys to homes in this newly created environment, which will eventually contain almost 3,000 unsubsidised and subsidised homes (high-rise flats and single-family houses) in two phases. The development – where building work commenced in February 2014 – is, without doubt, one of the great symbols of the real estate recovery.

In accordance with the planned schedule, the first occupancy licences were granted in Arroyo del Fresno on 30 November for CP Grupo’s Montearroyo development (210 VPPL (limited price) homes) and Amenabar’s first VPPL residences, comprising 188 homes. All of these properties were sold shortly after their release onto the market in 2013 and the area is currently overrun with people moving in and deeds being signed, after Madrid’s Town Hall completed the partial receipt of the urbanisation.

In this sense, Amenabar has said that the deed signing process is progressing well, with deeds now signed for 176 (94%) of the 188 finished homes and the remaining deeds due to be signed for the other units soon. At the same time, the company revealed that it will begin to hand over its other development in Arroyo del Fresno in February; work there is almost complete on the 340 VPPB (basic price) homes.

In this way, the first settlers (which now occupy around one hundred of the properties) moved into Arroyo del Fresno in time for Christmas and hence the first illuminated windows and balconies can now be seen in the new neighbourhood. The number of residents in the PAU is expected to continue to increase over the coming days, as new residents take advantage of their days off over the holiday period to move in, according to CP Grupo.

It is worth highlighting that the opening of this new PAU is highly significant for the real estate sector because of what it represents. The definitive revival of the area took place at the height of the property crisis and the development received an enthusiastic response in terms of demand from the start, brandishing a new product in a sought-after location at competitive prices (post-boom). And so Arroyo del Fresno represents one of the faces of the new phase (of the economic cycle). After being the epicentre for the reactivation of property development, it is now really coming to life.

Original story: El Mundo (by Jorge Salido Cobo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Strong Recovery In Madrid’s Market For New Homes

14 July 2015 – Cinco Días

The lack of new housing developments in Madrid in recent years means that the few blocks that have been built are being sold quickly, as the economic environment improves. So much so that the marketing company Foro Consultores has conducted the first comprehensive study of the new build segment, which not only estimates the size of the stock of new homes in the capital, it also calculates when that stock may be depleted if the current strong rate of sales continues.

The study, based on visits to all of the developments currently for sale and simulations of purchases or direct surveys at the sites, has focused on analysing the existing supply in new urban developments (Arroyo del Fresno, Montecarmelo, Las Tablas, Sanchinarro, Valdebebas, El Cañaveral, El Ensanche de Vallecas and Carabanchel), since those are the areas where the new builds are concentrated. Whole new buildings are the exception rather than the rule in the city centre and in the city’s more established neighbourhoods.

Foro Consultores begins its report by highlighting the number of new homes: currently the stock of new homes available for sale in Madrid amounts to 1,770, of which 781 are “free” and 989 are social housing (VPO) homes. That figure represents just 20% of the total number of buildings that have started to be built since 2010. Moreover, we are talking about very small numbers if we take into account that the study has analysed 102 developments in total, containing 4,001 “free” homes and 3,861 social housing homes, almost 8,000 homes, which came onto the market in recent years as turnkey properties or homes sold off-plan.

4.1 homes sold per development per month

The uptake of homes by region is not uniform. More than half of the new homes built in El Cañaveral, in the south of the city – the last development to get underway – have not yet been sold. Meanwhile, in other new neighbourhoods, such as Montecarmelo, less than 5% of the new homes or those under construction remain unsold. Furthermore, in Ensanche de Vallecas in 2007, there were almost 3,000 unsubsidised new homes for sale, but now there are just 166 left.

As well as the scarcity of supply due to the construction paralysis in recent years, one of the keys that explains the fast absorption of the stock is the acceleration in the rate of sales in recent months. Foro Consultores estimates that if no new developments come onto the market, then the excess would be depleted in just six months, at the current sales rate of 4.1 homes per development per month.

The study highlights that these 4.1 homes sold (per development per month) represents the sale of 5.3% of developments every 30 days, an average rhythm that has not been seen since 2003, and for unsubsidised housing, that figure is almost 5 homes per development per month, whereas during the crisis, it never exceeded one unit per month.

The study also shows that 79% of the developments on the market were started between 2010 and 2015, and of those 77% have already been sold.

In terms of prices, the report also highlights that in certain developments in El Cañaveral, the price of unsubsidised homes is lower than the price of VPO homes, which is not very typical in Madrid. “This shows that the social housing pricing model is out of synch with the market and that the promoters of unsubsidised homes have adapted better to the changes in conditions”, explained Foro Consultores.

In the areas analysed, the absolute prices of unsubsidised homes ranges between €77,000 and €657,000, with an average price of €273,021. Meanwhile, the prices of VPO homes range between €38,474 and €382,652, with an average price of €150,721.

Finally, the study concludes that by type of home, three-bedroom houses are in most demand. Meanwhile, the construction of studios and small flats, which were so fashionable during the boom, is now reducing.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Raquel Díaz Guijarro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Funds And Developers Compete To Buy Land In North Madrid

9 June 2015 – El Confidencial

Land is no longer the most toxic asset in the market, rather it has become one of the most sought after by investors. Although, not all plots or all locations are of interest, it is clear that the number of transactions, especially in Madrid, has reached “cruising speed” during the last few months. But, what are investment funds and property developers looking for exactly?

“Land has to be ready to build on (‘suelo finalista’); it is imperative that we can begin to build on it within a period of six months”, says Roberto Roca, Investment Director, Head of Spain at Orion Capital Managers, a fund that has closed two of the largest shopping centre transactions centres in Spain in the last year: the sale of Puerto Venecia (Zaragoza), the largest shopping centre in Europe, for €451 million and the sale of Plenilunio (Madrid), for a record figure of €375 million.

(…)

The market for land in Madrid is in full swing, to the extent that some experts agree that there is “overheating” in certain specific areas.

“Most activity is concentrated within the M-30 and on buildable land. Also, outside of the M-30, to the North of Madrid, from the A-6 to the A-1, i.e. the area comprising the urban developments of Arroyo del Fresno, Sanchinarro, Montecarmelo and Las Tablas”, says Ernesto Tarazona, Director of Residential Property and Land at Knight Frank.

However, in the South of Madrid, “despite the decreases, prices have not dropped enough…to reflect the real demand in the area”, concludes Tarazona.

(…)

One of the most active players in the market is Neinor Homes – the result of Lone Star’s purchase of the real estate arm of Kutxabank – which has €1,000 million to spend on land in Spain, and which regards Madrid as one of its main targets. The company led by Juan Velayos has just bought four plots in Alcobendas and another one in San Sebastián de los Reyes – both towns to the North of Madrid – for almost €65 million. This has been the largest land transaction so far in 2015, both in terms of square metres acquired, as well as surface area purchased. The plots are completely established and ready for construction, with a total surface area of 70,000 m2 and a buildable area for the construction of almost 600 (unsubsidised) homes. The vendor was a private group, i.e. the land did not used to belong to the Public Administration.

This transaction comes after the recent purchase of three other plots of land, one in Madrid and two in País Vasco for €22 million. According to a statement from BNP Paribas Real Estate, which advised on the deal, the first plot – with a buildable area of 6,400 m2 – is in the Legazpi neighbourhood and has been granted a special plan, approved by Madrid’s Local Council, to build a 20-storey tower block. The other two plots are located in Gexto and Urduliz.

Meanwhile, the cooperative manager Ibosa is finalising an agreement with an investment fund, which will allow it to pay €70 million to buy 40,000 m2 of land from the Valdebebas Compensation Board, which will allow the construction of 1,000 homes (of which 100 will be social housing).

Nevertheless, the largest land-related deal in Madrid is undoubtedly the possible future auction – maybe after the summer – of the Ministry of Finance’s plot of land on Calle Padre Damián, which already has 4,000 individuals calling at its door.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sells 11 Plots Of Land In Madrid For €64.3m

21 January 2015 – El Economista

The land has capacity for 420 homes, an office building and a shopping centre

The Asset Management Company for Bank Restructurings (Sareb) has reached an agreement with CP Amenabar for the sale of 11 plots of land, for residential and commercial use, in Arroyo del Fresno (Madrid) for €64.3 million.

This agreement will allow CP Amenabar – a consortium formed by the property developer CP Grupo and the company Construcciones Amenabar – to build 420 homes, both subsidised and unsubsidised, as well as an office block and a shopping centre.

The sale in Arroyo del Fresno joins the list of plot-related transactions undertaken in recent months. Last year, Sareb awarded 190,000 square metres of land, which included the Crossover project, for more than €100 million.

A few days ago, the company chaired by Belén Romana (pictured above) closed the transaction involving the Aneto portfolio, a portfolio of loans secured by homes and plots of land prepared for the construction of buildings. The Head of Transactions at Sareb, Luis Martin Guirado, said “This transaction forms part of a strategy to create value from Sareb through the preparation of land for its development”. “The sale of these plots is a just another symptom of the improvement we are observing in the real estate market”, he said.

According to the company, this improvement allowed it to exceed the commercial objectives set in 2014. During the last few weeks of the year, the company closed wholesale transactions amounting to more than €1,000 million.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake