Fotocasa: House Prices in Ibiza Cost 38% More Now Than in 2008

25 April 2019 – El Confidencial

Together with Madrid and Barcelona, the real estate market in the Balearic Islands has led the real estate recovery in recent years. Boosted by its geographical limitations (land for the construction of new homes is finite), the boom in tourist rents and the huge push from foreign demand (foreigners account for 30% of transactions), house prices have soared over the last four years to return to the levels of the bubble, and, in some cases, even higher.

Specifically, house prices in both Ibiza and Calvià are now higher than their historical peaks at the height of the previous cycle (up by 38% and 1.6%, respectively, compared to February 2008). That is according to data published by Fotocasa relating to second-hand homes, which reveals that the number of building permits being granted in the two municipalities has also returned to pre-crisis levels.

In fact, Ibiza is one of the most expensive cities in Spain for buying a home, after San Sebastián and Sant Cugat del Vallès, according to Engel & Völkers. Much of the rise in house prices on the island is due to the strong rise in demand, especially from overseas buyers, with Germans leading the ranking by nationality.

According to the College of Registrars, the Balearic Islands is the second most active autonomous region in Spain in terms of house sales with 13.41 sales per 1,000 inhabitants, outperformed only by the Community of Valencia with 15.88 and ahead of the Community of Madrid with 11.63. Moreover, it is the eighth most active province by absolute number of transactions.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Industrialised Construction: Vía Célere Follows in Aedas’s Footsteps

13 March 2019 – Merca2

Vía Célere is going to be the first property developer to build an industrialised development of multi-family homes. Aedas has already paved the way with the model, but in its case, the properties were single-family homes.

The company led by Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado is going to launch its first project of this kind in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) and expects to finish the work within seven months. That would represent a time saving of one year compared to the normal construction period for such a development, thanks to the employment of industrialised systems.

Specifically, whilst the underground work is going on at the site of the new development (which is expected to take three or four months), the 50 modules that will comprise the first 17-home building will be manufactured off-site, in parallel. It will take just three weeks to install those modules and the last two months will be spent joining the facilities and the façades so that the homes are ready for delivery at the end of month seven.

Moreover, the firm is planning to build a 26-home development using the same industrialised system, also in Boadilla. In the future, Vía Célere aims to industrialise 30% of its future developments.

Original story: Merca2 (by Carlos Lospitao)

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake

Inditex Obtains Licence to Build a new Textile Design Building in Sabón

28 February 2019 – La Opinión A Coruña

The Local Government in Arteixo has granted a construction licence to Inditex to erect a new building at its headquarters, on the Sabón industrial estate, which will be used for textile design activity. The plot on which the new structure will be situated is located on the corner of Avenida de la Diputación with A Ponte (opposite the entrance to the ITV). The plans presented by the company to the municipality to obtain the municipal authorisation reflects that the construction work will cost €31.5 million.

The multi-national company will use this new space for “textile design activity”, according to the construction licence. The height of the new building will be 24 metres and it will sit on a plot measuring 54,300 m2. The authorisation granted by the municipality indicates that the deadline for starting the construction work is six months and for its completion is three years (…).

Original story: La Opinión A Coruña (by Iván Aguiar)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aedas Homes Unveils 100-Home Development in Aljarafe (Sevilla)

27 February 2019 – Eje Prime

Aedas Homes has taken another step in its expansion in Aljarafe (Sevilla). The real estate developer has just launched its Tovar development, a housing project aimed at people looking to reposition on the housing market and young people looking to rent. The development will comprise one hundred homes in total, which will be constructed in two blocks of 28 homes and 72 homes, respectively. The project has already been granted its building permit and the first homes will be available at the end of 2020.

This development is the company’s seventh in Sevilla and its second in Aljarafe. The homes are priced from €151,437 and have a shared common room, outdoor swimming pool, padel court, games room for children and green spaces.

The project comprises two, three and four-bedroom homes, including penthouses with terraces and surface areas of up to 70 m2 and ground floors with gardens measuring up to 170 m2 (…).

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinor & Vía Célere Lead the Ranking of Forecast House Deliveries for 2019

28 January 2019 – Cinco Días

Year after year, the new major players in the house construction sector are seeing the numbers in their growth plans increase. During 2019, the largest property developers created since 2015, and some of those reborn from the ashes during this latest upwards cycle, are expected to approach their cruising speed, above all, the listed companies Neinor, Aedas and Metrovacesa, which have been called to lead the residential construction sector together with Vía Célere. Even so, the sector is still very fragmented with lots of small companies.

Neinor Homes and Vía Célere have become the two entities with the largest number of home deliveries this year. In both cases, 2,000 clients will receive the keys to their homes, according to figures provided to Cinco Días by around twenty property developers. In these forecasts, the companies have detailed three concepts for their plans for 2019: homes that they will launch onto the market, homes that they will start work on and forecast deliveries.

Neinor Homes, created in 2015, and led by Juan Velayos (…) expects to start work on 3,000 homes this year, coming close to the cruising speed that it defined during its IPO, and it will start to market another 2,000 units.

Meanwhile, Vía Célere, controlled by the US fund Värde Partners, is in the middle of integrating the assets of Aelca, the other property developer owned by Värde, which has now emptied its portfolio (…). It is the only one of the large players that is not yet listed on the stock market; its plans in that regard were postponed last year.

The listed firm Aedas, also created in 2017 with land from another US fund, in that case, Castlelake, is also perceiving an upwards turn in its numbers. This year, it will hand over 1,055 homes, start marketing 2,500 homes and start building 3,000 homes, just two years after first appearing on the stage, with David Martínez as its CEO.

Meanwhile, Metrovacesa, the other large listed company, controlled by Santander (and in which BBVA holds a minority stake), clearly leads the business plans, with up to 4,500 homes to be newly marketed and whose construction will be launched. This one-hundred-year-old real estate company, which was cleaned up by the banks following the crisis, launched its new project in 2017 with Jorge Pérez de Leza, from Grupo Lar, as the CEO.

In terms of those entities backed by funds, the rescued firm Habitat also stands out, reactivated last year by Bain Capital, and which is planning to market 3,000 homes this year. Similarly, Cerberus took control of Inmoglacier in 2017 (…). That firm declined to provide its forecasts to this newspaper, but it is also set to play a significant role, given that it has become one of the real estate arms of the US fund, one of the most active in the purchase of assets from the banks and which also owns Haya Real Estate as its servicer.

The group of twenty-odd companies consulted will hand over almost 16,000 homes this year, will start work on 34,000 units and will begin marketing another 30,000 properties. These figures reflect the enormous fragmentation in the sector, which in the last 12 months has started 103,000 homes in total, according to figures from the Ministry of Development as at October 2018.

Small specialist property developers still carry a lot of weight, unlike in other countries where large players exist. Moreover, even though the rate of residential construction has taken off since 2014, it is still well below the peak of 2006 when 865,000 building permits were granted.

In terms of the new players also boosted by the international funds, they include other developers with a high rate of house sales: AQ Acentor (owned by the German fund Aquila), which is going to put 1,700 homes up for sale; Kronos Homes (backed by several European and US investors), which will market another 1,600 homes; and ASG Homes (backed by the British firm ActivumSG), which plans to add another 1,000 homes.

In terms of the survivors of the crisis, Amenabar stands out, the Gipuzkoan company, which expects to start work on 3,608 homes next year and to hand over 1,245 units. Another of the stalwarts is the Madrilenian firm Pryconsa, owned by the Colomer family, which has already reached a high number in terms of house starts: 1,285. In more modest terms, other important firms include the Basque entity Inbisa and the new entity Áurea Homes, the residential subsidiary of the Navarran construction group ACR (…).

Original story: Cinco Días (by Alfonso Simón Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sareb Sells a Residential Asset in Barcelona for €2M

23 January 2019 – Idealista

Sareb is divesting more assets in Cataluña. The company, in which the State owns a 45% stake, has sold a residential building in Hospitalet de Llobregat, in Barcelona, for €2 million. The buyer is a Catalan family office and the operation has been financed by La Caixa.

The building, located in Collblanc, used to be occupied illegally, but has subsequently been renovated and fitted out to house residential homes. The operation has been brokered by Mercat Inmobiliari.

The building has a surface area of 1,800 m2 comprising housing and parking distributed over four above-ground floors plus a basement, ground floor and mezzanine level. In recent months, Mercat Inmobiliari has also closed the sale of two buildings in Palma de Mallorca to the fund Mediterranean Capital for their conversion into holiday homes. Those two assets also used to be owned by the public-private entity (Sareb).

Sareb is finalising several options to get rid of its assets. One possibility includes the creation of a fund with a property developer, to which it would contribute land worth more than €800 million for the development of new build homes.

Moreover, the company is sounding out the market to sign agreements with specialist companies to convert its plots into buildable sites. Sareb owns land in Spain worth €5 billion, but almost half of the plots lack building permission.

Original story: Idealista (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Town Hall of Málaga Authorises Four Buildings for Tourist Apartments

16 October 2018 – Diario Sur

The boom in projects to build new tourist apartments in the Málagan capital continues apace. That is reflected in the list of activities that received building permits from the Municipal Urban Planning Department during the months of July, August and September, which will be submitted to the governing board of that Town Hall body tomorrow. The projects include four properties for tourist apartments, of which two involve the adaptation of existing buildings, and the other two the construction of new properties on separate plots, located in the Trinidad neighbourhood.

One of the authorised projects involves the construction of a building for 49 tourist apartments, 26 parking spaces and a swimming pool on the plot located at numbers 7, 8 and 9 Avenida de Fátima, located right next to the parish of the same name. It is being promoted by the company Pinar Concept. Similarly, around 200 m from that site, also in the Trinidad area, the Town Hall has granted a construction licence for another tourist apartment building, to be promoted by Inmoplan Promociones, which will be constructed on the plot at numbers 5 and 6, Plaza de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, next to c/Don Juan de Austria.

The other two approved initiatives involve the conversion into tourist apartments of two residential-use buildings located at number 52 Calle Mariano de Cavia, in the Pedregalejo area, on the one hand, and at number 2 Calle Barroso, next to Calle Córdoba, on the other. As this newspaper already reported (refer to SUR18/9/2018), behind this latest activity in the Soho area is the chain Hotusa, which is planning to develop a project involving 42 tourist apartments through the company Tandem Apartments.

Student halls

On the other hand, on another plot of land in Trinidad, located at numbers 8 and 10 Calle Carril, the Urban Planning Department has approved the construction of a hall of residence for students promoted by the company specialising in internships for overseas students, Euromind Projects.

In addition, the Urban Planning Department plans to approve tomorrow the start of the procedure to declare the expiration of the permit that was granted in 2008 for the construction of an industrial, office and parking lot building at number 303 Avenida de Velázquez, next to the headquarters of Canal Sur. That project was started but only the structure was completed. In a letter to Aena in July, it was stated that in 2009, the obligations of the airport were modified and so currently its height represents “an obstacle” for manoeuvres for the approach and take off of planes from the runway.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Jesús Hinojosa)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ministry of Development: Spain Signed 60,000 New Home Permits in 2017

5 June 2018 – Eje Prime

Spain is still a long way from the dizzy heights of 2006, but its stock of housing is gradually recovering the colour it lost during the decade when the sun shone very little over the new build sector. Last year, 60,888 municipal licences were signed for the construction of new homes, which represents almost twice as many as the 31,213 permits that were granted five years ago, according to data from the Ministry of Development.

Moreover, in YoY terms, the increase in the number of licences for the construction of residential buildings was 6.5%, with even greater rises in certain autonomous regions, such as Cataluña, where the increase to November exceeded 50%.

Nevertheless, the region where most new homes are being built, Madrid, recorded a slight decline in 2017. Following a significant increase in the number of licences during the beginning of the new economic cycle, last year, that market for the construction of new homes lost speed with a decrease of 4.4%.

In total, in the Spanish capital and its surrounding area, 14,018 licences were signed last year for residential construction, a figure that doubles the number recorded in 2016, but which represents a decrease of more than 650 homes at a time when there is great demand from Spanish and international investors.

The recovery of the Madrilenian residential market is clearly understood in the increase in the number of licences for the construction of new homes experienced first between 2013 and 2015, and, more importantly, during 2016. Five years ago, 6,134 permits were signed in the central region, in an annus horribilis that followed a 2012 in which Madrid approved 17,000 licences. After that, 24 months of stabilisation in the segment with the registration of between 7,000 and 8,000 licences (in total) for new homes, proceeded a 2016 that doubled the figures with 7,500 administrative signings of contracts for residential development.

The shortage of land and the obstacles imposed by Town Halls such as Madrid’s (…) have led to a fall that is heating up the market and generating problems for the whole sector. Other autonomous regions, such as  Navarra, Aragón, Asturias and Murcia also recorded decreases in 2017, going against the tide (…) and once again showing signs that Spain is moving at two speeds in the residential sector.

Significant increases on the Mediterranean Coast 

The Mediterranean coast is proving to be the engine for new housing in Spain. Regions such as Cataluña, the Community of Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the Málagan section of the Costa del Sol are registering significant growth figures in terms of the number of licences granted for the construction of housing.

Cataluña is on a roll with the construction of homes, with an increase of 50% during the first ten months of last year. To November, 9,815 licences were signed and sources in the sector have said to Eje Prime that the forecast for the end of the year was 12,100 permits, up by 35% compared to 2016 (…).

Heading south, the Community of Valencia has developed in a similar way to the Catalan market over the last five years. It doubled its annual figures between 2013 and 2017, from 3,142 permits to 6,588, but the greatest increase came in 2016. In just twelve months, the Mediterranean region increased the number of licences from 4,712 to 6,540, up by 39%.

The markets in the Balearic Islands and Andalucía, where the Costa del Sol plays a prominent role, have also shown clear signs of improvement in recent years. On the islands, permits for new build almost tripled between 2015 and 2017 from 826 to 2,391 (…).

Meanwhile, in Andalucía, although the growth percentage was similar, the increase was calculated on a larger volume of homes. As one of the areas with the highest demand for new home permits, the region (…) closed 2017 with 12,363 licences. Just five years earlier, that figure barely exceeded 5,000 (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by J. Izquierdo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

A Turning Point for the In Tempo Building in Benidorm

1 June 2018 – Diario Información

The In Tempo building in Benidorm is starting a new phase and putting an end to the previous phase that was fraught with economic and legal problems. The new company that acquired the property from the bad bank  Sareb has now received the green light to finish the construction work and start marketing the homes in the tallest residential building in Europe given that it has been officially granted all of the construction permits. In addition, the property developer behind the tower block, the company Olga Urbana, has also ceased to exist.

Just three days ago, the Town Hall of Benidorm, through a decree from the Councillor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, to which this newspaper has had access, approved the issue of the transfer of the urban planning licence that was previously held by Olga Urbana SL, the property developer behind the project, to the new company that owns the building, Teach Spire SLU.

That licence was granted to the former company in 2006 for the construction of a building comprising 269 homes, 398 parking spaces and 133 storerooms (…). The same decree also covers the transfer of the construction project from the former company in favour of the new owner. With this step, the new company now has all the rights and obligations in place resulting from the transfer of the licences.

Now, the new company has the green light to finish the construction work. The new owner of the In Tempo building in Benidorm, the firm SVP Global, forecasts that the property will become a reality within 12 months and that it will be able to start marketing the 269 homes before the summer, according to a statement issued in April.

In the autumn, the Company for the Management of Assets proceeding from the Restructuring of the Banking System (Sareb) sold the property’s debt to SVP Global for more than €60 million. The bad bank had been left with a loan amounting to €108 million five years ago albeit secured by the tallest building in the Community of Valencia.

The project, which was first approved almost a decade ago, has a 93% completion rate and what has been built is in a good condition despite the fact that the construction work was suspended four years ago after the Alicante-based property developer Olga Urbana filed for bankruptcy (…).

Not only has a chapter been closed for In Tempo in terms of the building permits, but also, the property developer Olga Urbana has also ceased to exist following its bankruptcy. The Official Gazette of the Mercantile Registry (Borme) of Alicante published the inscription of the dissolution of the company yesterday, issued by Mercantile Court number 1 in Alicante, a process that was started in 2014, according to the publication (…).

Original story: Diario Información (by A. Vicente)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Neinor Homes Buys “Non-Finalist” Land for €194M

9 May 2018 – Expansión 

Despite recording losses of €8 million during the first quarter of the year, the property developer is maintaining its objective of closing the year in profit.

Neinor Homes closed the first quarter of the year flat in financial terms, with sales of €19 million and net losses of €7.9 million, but it is preparing to crank up the pace with the handover of 1,000 homes during the course of the year, primarily during the last six months, which will allow it to close the year in the black.

Moreover, in order to maintain the pace of deliveries from 2022 onwards, the firm has closed agreements to purchase “non-finalist land” (plots without building permits) for €194 million, on which it will be able to build 1,400 homes. “This land has very advanced planning in place and is without risk. The payment will only be made for these plots if all of the licences are granted within the planned timeframe”, explained Neinor.

These purchase agreements follow the €7.5 million invested in three finalist plots acquired during the first quarter of the year for another 120 homes. With these plots, the firm now owns a portfolio of land with capacity for 14,000 homes. In terms of Capex, Neinor is planning to spend €430 million on its construction projects, which implies 1% less than budgeted.

The property developer’s CEO, Juan Velayos (pictured above), says that this year is going to be “significant” in terms of revenues and he adds that, of the 1,000 home handovers scheduled for 2018, 90% have already been pre-sold. “The rest, which are the best units, will be sold once they have been handed over”, he said.

Pre-sales

Following the punishment from analysts in February, when Neinor announced a reduction in its delivery targets to 1,000 units in 2018 compared with 1,374 planned initially and to 2,000 in 2019 from 3,000 planned originally, the property developer now wants to reassure the market. It confirmed that the 31 developments that are going to be handed over in 2019 are already underway and have received their licences. “We have very high visibility over our revenues”, added the director. Specifically, Neinor’s order book includes almost 2,500 pre-sold homes, which corresponds to sales of around €828 million.

Velayos said that, with the projects underway, the company is going to reverse the weight of the different businesses and revenues will now be generated by the delivery of homes.

Neinor’s shares (…) ended trading yesterday down by 2.31% to €16 per share.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake