Tag: building licence

Valdeluz: Another Icon Of The RE Bubble Shows Signs Of Life

19 September 2016 – El Mundo

The recovery of the real estate market is spreading like an oil slick out from the major cities out to the rest of the country. The strength of the recovery is such that it is even reaching places that were synonymous with the real estate bubble. Just a few months ago, this newspaper reported the resurgence of the PAU de El Quiñón – El Pocero’s city in Seseña. Now, the awakening of the residential market has also reached the reviled PAU of Ciudad Valdeluz, in Yebes (Guadalajara).

The streets of the development, which contain four- and five-storey residential blocks and whose design is reminiscent of the PAUs in Madrid, are exuding life. The area has 2,220 finished homes – with an occupancy rate of 83.1% – and 2,611 registered inhabitants (a figure that the Town Hall says actually reflects 4,380 residents). Although perhaps the best symptom of the health of the housing market could well be the lack of For Sale signs. It is estimated that the stock here amounts to just 100-150 units after the banks placed some of their supply on the market in one go at cheap prices, marketing homes that once cost more than €200,000 in the golden years, for less than €70,000 and family homes that used to cost more than €400,000 for just €120,000.

The limited supply and strong rate of sales has even revived the property development sector. In August, the Town Hall granted its first building permit for 10 years. Moreover, and this is significant, it was to resume a project that had been suspended in 2008 and which was one of the last embers of the real estate bubble. Ibercaja is driving this development. “It is proof that development in Valdeluz is becoming profitable again and we think that it will be the starting point for the new real estate market here”, said Vidal Gaitán, Town Planning and Environment councillor in Yebes.

Gaitán is not at all surprised by Ibercaja’s decision: “A year and a half ago, the bank received around 80 or 90 homes and sold almost all of them in six months. It has seen that there is business here”. The councillor believes that this first building permit will have a “magnetic effect”, which is already being felt at the Town Hall. “Over the last few weeks, several architectural studios have asked about the status of certain plots of land. They have even asked about the licence relating to a shopping centre that has been half built”, he said. The municipal technicians have been instructed to prioritise these calls.

The available product belongs almost in its entirety to the banks and Sareb. For this reason, servicers such as Altamira, Solvia and Servihabitat are the main commercial players in the area. Javier Muro, Regional Director of the Central Region at Altamira Asset Management, describes the current activity at Valdeluz as “a new phase”. His company sold an 80-home building in just a few months. “With updated prices and affordable financing”, he said “sales of these kinds of developments are proving successful once more”.

“Price is critical in Valdeluz” said Muro, who recalled that the PAU has had to overcome the setback of not having a shuttle between the AVE station in Valdeluz and Madrid. Gaitán still dreams about that train, which would link the town with Atocha in 18 minutes. (…).

Nevertheless, Javier Román, Regional Director for Madrid, Castilla and the Northeast at Solvia, highlights Valdeluz’s location. “It is five minutes away from Guadalajara and it is easily accessible from Madrid and the Corredor del Henares by the A-II and R-2”, he said, at the same time as extolling the virtues of its 272,000 sqm of green space. (…).

Original story: El Mundo (by Jorge Salido Cobo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Juan Bravo 3 Plot Worth 7% More Than 12 Months Ago

6 March 2016 – El Confidencial

The recovery of the real estate market is starting to be reflected in the income statements of real estate companies and Socimis, especially in the value of their assets. According to information submitted to Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) by Lar España, the famous plot of land located on Calle Juan Bravo, 3, which is going to be home to the most exclusive luxury housing development in the capital, has risen in value by 7% in the last year.

The Socimi has owned 50% of the land, alongside the US manager Pimco since the beginning of 2015, when both companies joined forces to buy Eurosazor (the development company created by Rafael Ortiz and the businessman Fernando Fernández Tapias) which owned the 26,203 m2 plot on Juan Bravo, 3 and another 5,318 m2 plot on Claudio Coello, 108.

Lar and Pimco acquired both residential assets for €120 million, in such a away that the purchase amounted to €60 million for each plot. Six months later, in June 2015, the consultancy firms JLL and C&W valued the plots at €61.3 million, and by the end of last year, that figure had increased to €64.35 million, up by 7.1%. This increase in value is explained not only by the recovery of the residential market, but also the scarcity of plots of land and new homes on the market in the neighbourhood of Salamanca, the most sought-after by wealthy individuals, both domestic and international – especially Venezuelans.

This increase in value has been generalised for the whole of the Socimi’s portfolio. The value of the assets acquired between its debut on the stock exchange and 31 December 2015 amounted to €898.9 million, in other words, €46.2 million more than their combined acquisition prices, which represents an increase of 5.4%. By type of asset, besides residential, Lar’s shopping centres have increased in value by 4.4%, its office are up by 6.6% and its logistics centres are up by 11.1%.

Juan Bravo, 3 is, nevertheless, one of the most important assets in the portfolio, at least from the media’s point of view, given that the market has been waiting for work to begin there for more than a decade. (…).

The demolition work is about to begin

Now… the project is increasingly closer to becoming a reality, after it recently received the licence from the Town Hall of Madrid that will allow it to demolish the basements and consolidate the land. This is the first step to obtaining the construction permit and, therefore, the definitive launch of the project, which will be designed by the Madrilenian architecture firm Rafael de La-Hoz (see photo above).

Although the details of the project have not been revealed yet, all indications are that around one hundred homes measuring between 250 m2 and 450 m2 will be constructed on the 2,250 m2 plot of land, which has a buildable capacity of 26,000 m2. Prices could reach, on average, €10,000/m2, with the most affordable homes averaging around €8,000/m2 and the most elite averaging around €14,000/m2. (…).

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Carmena Makes Deal With Villar Mir Re Canalejas Complex

13 October 2015 – Cinco Días

The mayoress of Madrid, Manuela Carmena (Ahora Madrid) has reached an agreement with the Villar Mir group to resume the construction of the Canalejas complex, a centre containing a hotel, shops and luxury homes next to the Puerta del Sol, which is currently on hold. That was the statement made by the Town Hall on Friday, which called a press conference for today (Tuesday), where it will reveal the terms of the deal.

OHL is building a five star (Four Seasons) hotel, a large shopping centre and luxury homes in this complex. In September, the company, the Town Hall and the Community of Madrid established a permanent negotiating table, which has now reached an agreement.

The project will modify the volume of the building, which will now be smaller, thanks to a reduction in the height, since the Town Hall wanted to limit the visual impact, above all in the area next to “kilometre zero”. Moreover, the revised plans exclude the planned underground transport hub, and so buses will arrive at Puerta del Sol.

The building work was suspended in part by the Heritage Commission, for the alleged destruction of protected sections, and needs a building licence to continue.

The company owned by Juan Miguel Villar Mir plans to invest €285 million in the operation, which will affect the block between Calles Alcalá, Sevilla, Carrera de San Jerónimo and the Puerta del Sol. Historically, this is where the headquarters of several banks, such as Banesto and Banco Hispano Americano, have been located. (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake