Tag: average price

Engel & Völkers: House Prices Soar In Ibiza

21 July 2017 – Eje Prime

The real estate market in Ibiza is continuing to rise. Demand for high-end housing in Ibiza continues to significantly exceed the available supply, which has led to an increase in the prices registered on the island over the last year, according to a study prepared by the German real estate consultancy firm Engel & Völkers.

In its Ibiza Markets Report, the company explains that over the last year, it has sold homes to clients of 17 nationalities. Although most buyers on the island came from Germany, for the first time in almost ten years, Spaniards were the second largest group of house buyers.

The nationality of the other main house buyers included people from the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Italy and the Benelux countries. “Ibiza is still one of the favourite destinations for the international jet set and retains its leadership position in the Balearic Islands as the island with the most private flights”, say sources at the consultancy firm.

One of the most sought-after areas on the Balearic Island is the city of Ibiza and its surrounding areas. The redevelopment of the old town will be completed this year and so new luxury hotels will soon enhance the exclusivity of that area. In this sense, luxury villas measuring 350 m2 saw their prices increase by 14.2% in 2016 to reach €4 million.

Properties range from contemporary designer villas to traditional estates. The asking prices for villas measuring 350 m2 start at €3.5 million, whereby exceeding the figure of €3 million paid in 2015.

Entry prices for villas measuring around 350 m2 in very good locations rose to €2.6 million in 2016 compared to €2.5 million in 2015. “We are convinced that the growth of the real estate market will continue for the rest of the year in Ibiza”, predicted Florian Fischer, Director General of Engel & Völkers España.

The consultancy firm forecasts that the high level of demand will continue, both from domestic and international buyers, for primary and secondary residences on the Balearic Islands, primarily in the most premium segment, where the limited number of exclusive properties will lead to further price increases over the long term.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Grosvenor & Amprop To Sell Luxury Homes In Madrid

20 February 2017 – Expansión

The company Grosvenor Europe, owned by the British real estate conglomerate Grosvenor, has agreed to acquire a plot of land, measuring 820 m2, on Calle Jorge Juan in Madrid, in one of the most exclusive and expensive residential areas of the city.

The operation forms part of the investment plan that Grosvenor signed last summer with the company Amprop, which is listed on the Malaysian stock exchange and which operates in the real estate, renewable energy and public construction sectors.

At that time, the real estate group, which owns more than 1,500 properties all over the world, transformed its fund Grosvenor Fund Management into Grosvenor Europe, with the aim of undertaking co-investment projects in high profile markets in Europe, such as Paris, Madrid, Milan and Stockholm.

Seven months after creating this alliance, the partners have completed their first investment, for an undisclosed sum. Grosvenor and its partner will promote an exclusive development on this plot, comprising six apartments measuring 180 m2 each, and a penthouse with views of the Retiro park. The average price per m2 of prime products in the neighbourhood of Salamanca amounts to around €8,500/m2, but some developments average more than €9,000/m2, according to the latest residential reports.

The aim is to close another two operations within the next few months. “We are studying several opportunities for residential development and value added products in the centre of Madrid. We hope to build our portfolio in a very strong way in 2017”, say sources at the group.

Original story: Expansión (by R.Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Idealista: Second-Hand House Prices Fell By 2.6% In January

2 February 2017 – Expansión

The price of second-hand homes in Spain decreased by 2.6% during the month of January, to reach €1,508/m2, according to the latest real estate price index from Idealista. Compared with January 2016, when the average price stood at €1,597/m2, the YoY decline amounts to 5.6%.

Prices increased in just 2 of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions. The highest increase was recorded in the Balearic Islands, where owners were asking 1.4% more for their homes in January than a month ago, followed by Cantabria (0.1%). Prices decreased in each of the remaining 15 autonomous regions, led by Andalucía (-2.8%), and followed by Castilla La Mancha (-2.5%) and La Rioja (-2.5%).

Euskadi (€2,495/m2) continued to be the most expensive autonomous region to buy a second-hand home. It was followed by the Community of Madrid (€2,331/m2) and the Balearic Islands (€2,001/m2). At the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest regions to buy a second-hand home were Castilla La Mancha (€896/m2), Extremadura (€925/m2) and Murcia (€998/m2).

By province

Only 9 Spanish provinces saw price rises during the month of January. Prices rose by 1.4% in the Balearic Islands,  and they were followed by increases in Lleida (1.3%), Barcelona (0.7%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (0.4%), Salamanca and Vizcaya (0.3% in both cases). Prices decreased in all other provinces during the month, led by Castellón and Ciudad Real where they fell by the most (-4.5% in both cases). They were followed by reductions in Almería and Cuenca (which both fell by -4.1%).

In terms of the most expensive provinces, the ranking remained stable, with the Basque provinces of Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya leading the table, at €2,743/m2 and €2,574/m2, respectively. They were followed by Madrid (€2,331/m2) and Barcelona (€2,236 /m2).

At the other end of the table, Toledo was the cheapest province, with an average price of €798/m2. It was followed by Cuenca (€823/m2) and Ciudad Real (€838 /m2).

In terms of provincial capitals, Barcelona became the most expensive city in Spain during January (€4,024/m2), followed by San Sebastián (€3,931/m2) and Madrid (€2,925/m2). By contrast, Lleida was the cheapest capital, at €904/m2, followed by Castellón (€936/m2) and Ávila (€990/m2).

Original story: Expansión (by Nayara Mateo Del Cerro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Tinsa: House Prices Rose By 0.8% In Q4 2016

4 January 2017 – El Mundo

Average house prices in Spain rose by 0.8% during the fourth quarter of the year with respect to the same period in 2015, according to provisional data published in Tinsa’s IMIE Local Market Index. According to the appraisal company, the stabilisation in prices, which is in line with the YoY variation recorded during the third quarter of the year, “reflects micro-market multiples, which are evolving at different speeds”.

The index highlights that Cataluña, which saw an increase of 7.2%, the Community of Madrid (5.2%) and País Vasco (4.3%) continue to be the drivers of the housing market in Spain, followed by the Canary Islands and Andalucía, which saw price rises of 2.8% and 2%, respectively, in terms of YoY variation during Q4.

At the other end of the spectrum, the highest price decreases were recorded in the regions of Murcia (-4.8%), Castilla y León (-3.9%) and the Balearic Islands (-3.1%). Price decreases were also observed in Cantabria (-2.1%), Navarra (-1.9%), Asturias (-1.3%) and Aragón (-0.9%), which closed the year with lower prices than in Q4 2015.

According to Tinsa’s report, homes are now at least 5% more expensive than they were a year ago in up to six provinces. Barcelona (8.4%), Palencia (7.8%) and Guipúzcoa (7.4%) saw the highest price rises over the last year, followed by Málaga (with growth of 6.6%), Madrid and Almería (both of which recorded YoY rises of 5.2%).

By contrast, the provinces of Huelva and Lérida registered decreases of -6.9% and -6.5% over the last year, respectively. The provinces of Orense, León, Murcia and Valladolid are saw prices decreases of more than 4%.

Cities

By provincial capital, house prices rose significantly over the last year in San Sebastián (12.1%), Bilbao (11.6%) and Barcelona (11%), well above the increases recorded in Madrid, Málaga and Palencia, where average prices rose by 6.3%, 5.4% and 5% YoY, respectively.

This evolution contrasts with that recorded by the group of 29 capitals where average prices are lower than they were a year ago, led by León (-11.1%), Murcia (-7.3%), Valladolid (-6.6%) and Lugo (-6.2%).

Tinsa’s detailed analysis of the residential market in Spain’s five largest provincial capitals reveals significant price increases in certain districts of Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. That was the case in the neighbourhoods of Gràcia and Eixample in Barcelona, where the average price of finished homes rose by 16.5% and 15.1% YoY, respectively.

In Madrid, the highest price rises were concentrated in the areas of Hortaleza (13.4%), Centro (11.9%) and Tetuán (11.4%). (…).

The Barcelona district of Sarriá-Sant Gervasi continued to be the most expensive neighbourhood of the five large capitals analysed, at €3,901/m2, followed by Les Corts (€3,716/m2). In the capital, the neighbourhood of Salamanca, with an average price of €3,645/m2 exceeded prices in Chamberí (€3,562/m2), which saw the highest price rises in the city last quarter.

Rate of sales

According to Tinsa, average sales periods (…) have decreased below 10 months for the first time since this indicator was first compiled in Q2 2015, to 9.9 months across Spain. (…).

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ministry Of Development: Urban Land Prices Rose By 6.6% In Q2

16 September 2016 – Expansión

The market for urban land is starting to show signs of recovery. The price of plots of land rose by 6.6% during the second quarter of the year, to amount to €163.4/sqm. It is the best figure since Q4 2012, although it is still light years away from the peak recorded in 2007, at the height of the real estate boom, when prices reached €285/sqm.

One of the main conclusions coming out of the statistics published yesterday by the Ministry of Development is that, thanks to the real estate pull in the capital and Barcelona, the Community of Madrid and Cataluña account for almost half of the market for urban land. Specifically, they accounted for a total sales volume of €351.9 million, i.e. 47% of the total volume for Spain (€751.1 million). This most recent figure is 21.7% higher than a year ago. The total surface area sold in Spain amounted to 5.6 million sqm, up by 7.7%.

The total value of land sold soared by 85% in Barcelona and by 11% in Madrid.

The number of transactions grew by 16% YoY across Spain. In April, May and June, 4,435 plots of land were sold, compared to 3,819 during Q2 2015. The most significant increase was recorded in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, where sales rose by 20%. In towns with between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, there were 1,580 transactions, up by 24.6%.

In municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, the highest average prices were reported in the provinces of Barcelona (€485/sqm, equivalent to triple the average for Spain), Madrid (€456/sqm) and the Balearic Islands (€373/sqm). The lowest prices were recorded in Guadalajara (€72.6/sqm, less than half the national average), Cádiz (€100/sqm) and Tarragona (€101.4/sqm).

Prices rose by just 0.1% in the cities, given that Madrid pushed down the statistics with a decrease of 14%. According to the real estate consultant, José Luis Ruiz Bartolomé, that is a result of the comparison with data from 2015, when “there was very little urban land available in Madrid, and investors sought refuge in plots of land in the most solvent areas, whilst this year land sales have spread across the whole city and are no longer limited to just the central areas”.

In Barcelona, the increase in land prices amounted to 3.5% during Q2 2016.

The Ministry of Development also published statistics yesterday about the appraisal value of unsubsidised homes, which rose by 2% YoY to €1,506.4/sqm in Q2 2016.

After 26 quarters of YoY decreases in house prices, which began at the end of 2008, “this data represents the fifth consecutive quarter of nominal price increases”, said the Ministry. In real terms, in other words, accounting for the effect of inflation, the increase amounted to 2.9%.

Ten autonomous regions reported YoY increases, led by the Balearic Islands (+5.9%), Madrid (+4.8%), Cataluña (+4.6%), the Canary Islands (+2.9%), Extremadura (+2.4%), Ceuta and Melilla (+2.3%) and Galicia (+1.4%). By contrast, the other regions reported YoY decreases – in appraisal prices, not in sales prices – led by Navarra (with a decrease of -2.2%), Aragón (-1.9%), País Vasco (-1.7%) and Cantabria (-1.3%).

House values are now 28.3% lower than their maximum levels, reached during Q1 2008. (…).

Original story: Expansión (by Juanma Lamet)

Translation Carmel Drake

Tecnocasa: Second-Hand House Prices Rose By 8% In H1

7 September 2016 – El Mundo

The average price of second-hand housing in Spain rose by 7.99% YoY during the first half of 2016, to €1,666/sqm, according to the XIII Report about the residential market, prepared by Tecnocasa and the University of Pompeu Fabra (UPF) using sale/purchase and mortgage data from the real estate company.

Despite the significant increase, this average price is still well below the maximum values that the market reached at the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, when the average cost per square metre of second-hand homes amounted to more than €3,500. (…).

The city of Barcelona, which saw a price rise of 9.45%, led the increases during the first half of 2016, followed by Málaga (9.21%) and Madrid (9.03%). In this way, the cost per square metre rose to €2,443/sqm in Barcelona, to €1,044/sqm in Málaga and to €1,835 in Madrid.

In this regard, Tecnocasa notes that “we are seeing a two-speed recovery”, given that prices in cities such as Guadalajara, Sevilla, Zaragoza and Valencia increased by less than 2% (during the same period).

At a press conference held to present the report, the Director of the Department for Analysis and Reports at the Tecnocasa Group, Lázaro Cubero, explained that rental prices are also increasing, in the same proportion, and the average mortgage is also rising (€91,808), which represents an increase of 9.8%, although still represent less than half the lending figures in 2007 (€185,462). In this sense, it is worth remembering that the average monthly repayment amounts to €367.

Cubero stated that prices are still “attractive” – they are 52% lower than they were in 2006 for Spain as a whole – and financing conditions are very favourable, thanks to low interest rates, at a time when vendors are still having to apply discounts to their initial asking prices to achieve a sale.

The CEO of the Tecnocasa Group, Paolo Boarini, indicated that financial institutions are still behaving in a conservative way when it comes to granting mortgages: they are granting 73% of the appraisal value, and “it is very hard for people with temporary contracts to obtain a mortgage; self-employed people also face challenges”.

Meanwhile, for the Professor of Economics at the UPF and the coordinator of the report, José García Montalvo, the increase in the uptake of fixed-rate mortgages is “a significant change in the right direction”. He criticised Spain in this regard, stating that variable rate mortgages do not account for 95% of the total market in any other country, given that this means all of the risk in terms of interest rate fluctuations is transferred to the client. (…).

On the other hand, the Tecnocasa Group brokered 4,327 house sales in Spain during the first half of the year, up by 22% compared with the same period in 2015, as well as 1,445 mortgages, up by 28%, through its network of 465 offices (19.23%) and 2,000 sales agents. (…).

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Notaries: House Sales Rose By 20% In H1 2016

16 August 2016 – Expansión

House sales grew by 19.6% during the first half of the year, to amount to 225,551 transactions, thanks to a boost from second hand flat sales, according to statistics published by the General Council of Notaries. In other words, there were 1,239 transactions per day during H1 2016. These results represent the highest increase since the historical series was first compiled, back in 2007.

Moreover, these figures exceed the official ones, provided by INE last week, which reported 207,116 transactions between January and June, with an increase of 16.4% with respect to 2015 levels. This discrepancy is due to the fact that the General Council of Notaries obtains its sales data from the public deeds signed by notaries, whereas INE waits until sales have been recorded in the registry, which means a delay of one or two months.

In this way, 153,631 second-hand flats were sold between January and June, which represents a 19.29% increase compared with last year; such properties accounted for a third (68.1%) of all homes sold during the period. This data contrasts with the sale of new homes, which amounted to just 15,675 units during the first half of the year, representing a decrease of 13.6% compared to a year earlier.

The rest of the market was completed by other assets, such as plots of land, whose sales volumes rose by 12.1% YoY. It is worth highlighting that sales of buildable land grew significantly (by up to 33.2% in certain months), which shows the interest from property developers in starting new projects, as they sense a significant recovery in the real estate market.

Similarly, there is another trend: second hand homes are forming an increasingly larger part of the market. Thus, during the first half of the year, the sale of second hand homes accounted for ten times the sale of new homes, according to data from the notaries. This trend was maintained in June, when overall house sales rose by 7.1%, boosted by an 11.2% increase in second-hand home sales (29,052 units), compared with a drop of 33.4% in new homes sales (2,751 homes).

Prices

Price may be a key factor behind these differences, given that many owners of second-hand homes are still being forced to make large discounts, whilst those selling new homes (banks and property developers, in many cases) are able to wait a while before selling. (…).

At the end of June, the average price of a second-hand home stood at €1,418/sqm, which represented an increase of 6.1% compared with a year ago (€1,336/sqm). Meanwhile, in the case of new homes, at the end of the first half of the year, the average price amounted to €1,886/sqm, up by 12.7% compared with June 2015 (€1,673/sqm). As such, the average variation in house prices amounted to 7.5%. (…).

Finally, according to the statistics published by the notaries, 44.7% of the homes sold in June were financed using a mortgage with an average loan of €128,480, up by 0.4% compared with last year. These figures represent an increase of 13.3% in June with respect to the same month last year, with 18,904 new loans granted during the month.

Original story: Expansión (by P. Cerezal)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Madrileños Are Willing To Invest More In Homes

14 July 2016 – Expansión

The average amount that Madrileños are willing to pay to acquire a property in the Community of Madrid currently stands at €306,000, which represents an increase of 28%  compared to 2015, according a study, ‘Demand for housing in Spain’, compiled by Casaktua, based on more than 1,100 interviews.

The study also found that the average price Madrileños are willing to pay to rent a property is €584/month, which represents a 10% increase compared to last year, when the figure amounted to €532/month.

According to the document, “(On average), Madrileños have saved 37% of the cost of the property they want to buy, showing that few expect to be able to obtain financing for 100% of their properties when it comes to buying a home”. Nationally, average savings amount to 35%.

On the other hand, the study reveals that “the average budget that Madrileños allocate to the purchase or rental of a home has increased by 19% in the last twelve months, above the average (increase) for Spain as a whole (12%).

In addition, “the number of Madrileños (renters and owners) who are thinking about moving home in the short and medium term, has increased by three percentage points in the last year (from 48% to 51%)” says the report.

On the other hand, “73% of the residents of the Community of Madrid who want to move home started looking less than two and a half years ago” and the main reasons Spaniards wish to move home are “the number of bedrooms in the home and the area in which it is located”.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the Community of Madrid increased by 0.5% in June with respect to the previous month, whereas prices decreased by -0.8% compared with the same period last year, according to data published on Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

At the national level, CPI rose by 0.5% in June with respect to the previous month and increased its YoY growth rate by two tenths to -0.8%, as the price of electricity, petrol and organised trips all rose. In this way, CPI recorded two consecutive months of YoY increases.

Original story: Expansión (by Roberto Bécares)

Translation: Carmel Drake

ST: New House Prices Rise By 4% In MAD & BCN

30 June 2016 – El País

According to ST Sociedad de Tasación, the average price of new homes grew by 4% YoY in June in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. They were the two provincial capitals with the highest new home price rises in the last year. These price increases, which are not being seen in other capital, have been driven by the shortage of new home stock, explain sources at ST. “Our analysis of this data and of the increasing trend observed since June 2015 allows us to predict that Barcelona and Madrid are going to act as the drivers of the recovery process for new house prices, albeit at a slow pace”.

Barcelona is the provincial capital that recorded the highest new house prices, with an average of €3,390/sqm. Prices grew there by 2.2% during the first half of 2016. The YoY price increase in Barcelona was 4.1%, the highest of all of Spain’s provincial capitals.

By district, Gracia recorded the highest increase in new house prices, with a rise of 7.72%. It was followed by the neighbourhoods of Sarria-Sant Gervasi, with 6.94% and Sant Marti, with 6.38%. At the other end of the spectrum, the districts with the lowest YoY price increases were Ciutat Vella (1.33%), Sant Andreu (1.93%) and Nou Barris (2.33%).

And not only did the district of Sarria-Sant Gervasi in Barcelona record one of the highest price rises, it also registered the highest average price per constructed square metre, at €5,672/sqm. The districts of Les Corts and L’Eixample were ranked in second and third place, respectively, in terms of average prices, with values of €4,610/sqm and €4,511/sqm. By contrast, the districts with the lowest average prices were Nou Barris (€2,721/sqm), Sants-Montjuic (€3,024/sqm) and Sant Andreu (€3,062/sqm).

In Madrid, a new home costs €2,886/sqm on average

In the case of Madrid, new house prices have grown by 4% with respect to the previous year and by 2.1% during the first half of 2016. That takes the average price of new homes in Madrid to €2,886/sqm.

The ranking for the YoY variation in new house prices is headed by Ciudad Lineal, which saw growth of 5.8%. It was followed by Barajas, with 5.7% and Arganzuela, with 5.4%. At the other end of the spectrum, the neighbourhoods with the lowest YoY price variations were Hortaleza (0.8%) and La Latina (1%), followed by Tetuán (1.8%).

In terms of the average price of new homes, Salamanca was once again the most expensive district in the capital, with an average price of €4,799/sqm, followed by Chamberí (€4,626/sqm) and the Centre (€3,939/sqm). By contrast, the neighbourhoods of Vicálvaro, Villaverde and Villa de Vallecas registered the lowest average new home prices, of €1,856/sqm, €1,883/sqm and €2,203/sqm, respectively.

Original story: El País (by S.L.L.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Derby Hotels’ Assets Are Worth €800M

23 June 2016 – Expansión

Family owned chain / The Group chaired by Jordi Clos owns 12 hotels and 10 apartment buildings, and has a gearing ratio of 11.2%.

The Catalan businessman Jordi Clos, owner of Derby Hotels and the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona, and the Chairman of the Barcelona Hotel Association, has created a real estate empire from scratch that is now worth €800 million. Few hotel chains in Spain are so asset rich, given that the group owns all twelve of its hotels and all ten of the tourist apartment buildings that it operates. Its gearing ratio is also unusually low: 11.2% of the total asset value, at around €90 million.

In addition to the properties for tourist use, which are located in London, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, the group also owns several office buildings, homes and car parks, which it holds purely for real estate investment purposes.

Derby Hotels, which moved its headquarters from Barcelona to Madrid a few months ago, recorded revenues of €74.3 million in 2015, up by 6.4% compared with the previous year. Of that amount, €67 million was generated by the hotel business and the remainder, from the operation of the tourist apartments.

The only building in this family-owned chain that precedes Jordi Clos is the Hotel Derby, which his father-in-law opened in Barcelona in 1968. The businessman has opened all of the other properties, over a thirty year period from 1983 until 2013.

In some cases, Clos acquired his properties with investment partners, before going on to buy out their stakes years later. Such is the case of the Caesar Hotel in London, which he purchased together with the Metropolis real estate fund in 2004 for €30 million (each party acquired a 50% stake). In 2009, he joined forces with that fund again to acquire the Hotel Banke in Paris for €75 million. In 2013, Clos purchased the shares that Metropolis held in those two hotels in an operation that valued the assets at €120 million in total.

A similar case was that of Hotel Bagués in Barcelona, which he opened in 2010 with the Bagués Masriera family, owners of the building that the jewellers of the same name had occupied for decades. Last year, Close purchased the remaining 40% stake that the jewellers still held for €3.8 million.

Searching for new properties

Now, having digested the purchase of the 50% stakes of the hotels in London and Paris, Derby wants to continue to expand its empire in Europe. “Barcelona has been ruled out due to the hotel moratorium there and, we already have two five-star hotels in Madrid”, explained Clos. “Instead, we want to continue to diversify our risk by opening hotels in other cities, such as Amsterdam and Munich, although we are also looking at Copenhagen and Stockholm”.

The terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 directly affected the Group’s hotels in the French capital. Clos estimates that the occupancy rate there fell by 15% and average prices decreased by 20%. “If we weren’t a diversified chain with a low gearing ratio, it would have been hard for us to survive the winter in Paris”, he added.

Indeed, Hotel Banke had just increased its rating from four to five-stars following the remodelling of its 91 rooms. Now, the group is planning to raise the category of its hotel in London too, to a superior four-star property. To this end, it plans to increase the size of its rooms and reduce the total number from 140 to 120.

Original story: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: Carmel Drake