Tag: College of Architects

Ministry Of Development: Housing Permits Soared By 57% In Q1 2016

31 May 2016 – Expansión

More signs of acceleration in the construction sector. The number of permits to construct new homes have recorded their highest figure since 2011, although they are still a long way below the figures seen in 2006.

The number of housing permits granted by the college of architects to construct homes soared by 57% during the first quarter of the year to 16,782, the best figure recorded during the first three months of a year since 2011, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Development.

Despite the increase, the number of housing permits are still a long way below the highs recorded in 2006, at the height of the boom in the real estate sector (…).

The total number of permits granted for new builds, renovations and extensions during the three months to March amounted to 16,979, which represents an increase of 36% with respect to 2015.

By type of property, permits to construct housing blocks rose by 64%, to 12,425; whilst the number of permits granted to build family homes increased by 39% to reach 4,356 permits.

In terms of surface area, the average size of family homes amounted to 203.6 sqm, whilst the average size of flats stood at 118 sqm.

The number of permits granted started the year with a bang, up by 44% in January to 4,943. In February, the YoY increase amounted to 35%, with 5,663 permits, whilst in March the number doubled to reach 6,176.

Since the Ministry of Development began to compile these statistics in 1991, the number of permits granted hit a historical monthly low in August 2013, when just 1,585 licences were granted. The maximum high was recorded in September 2006, with 126,753 permits granted.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Funds Seek Out Dilapidated Buildings For Renovation

24 August 2015 – El Economista

The interest from international funds in Spanish real estate has no limits. These investors are not only looking for iconic buildings and premises right in the centre of Madrid, they are also willing to buy dilapidated residential properties for renovation.

Interest is growing in the acquisition of these kinds of assets in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, explains Samuel Población, National Director of CBRE Residential. According to the director, these investors, which tend to be international funds of Anglo-Saxon, US and French origin, are willing to pay between €5 million and €25 million to buy properties that need to be fully refurbished. “They spend up to €50 million on a single asset, but there do not tend to be many buildings for that price on the market”, he adds.

The modi operandi of these funds are almost always the same. They form partnerships with Spanish property developers, which contribute a smaller proportion of the capital, but who know the local market and who can streamline the administrative procedures. If a fund has a good business plan, it may generate a return within two and a half year, explains Población.

These investors also purchase properties to demolish them and build new ones in their place; in fact, that is often a cheaper option than a complete refurbishment. In this sense, Población indicates that “the problem they face is that the listing levels (for the protection of buildings) are very high and do not allow developers to demolish buildings and construction new ones. They have to restrict themselves to full refurbishments, preserving elements such as stairways and façades, which drives up the construction costs significantly”.

That is exactly why Población believes that introducing more flexibility in terms of the listing levels of buildings would allow the stock of homes to be refurbished more quickly, since more investors would enter the market. The reality is that Spain needs this type of investment, since around two million homes in the country are in poor conditions and need renovating, according to the figures provided by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). These figures place Spain, which has 25 million homes in total, as one of the most obsolete real estate stocks in the European Union.

A real reflection of these numbers has been seen in Madrid this month, where two properties have been demolished due to their poor condition. To avoid these kinds of incidents, Norberto Beirak, a member of the Governing Board of the College of Architects in Madrid, considers that certain protocols need to be established, which must be fulfilled when Technical Inspections of Buildings are carried out (ITE).

“There are no rules governing the procedures for these inspections”, he explains. Moreover, it is typically the buildings’ owners that pay for this service and they tend to commission very basic inspections due to a lack of resources.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Metrovacesa To Build Homes & Hotels In Clesa Factory

28 May 2015 – Expansión

The real estate company and the College of Architects are holding a competition for ideas to renovate the main building of the complex in Madrid and develop homes, hotels and retail spaces.

Recover an industrial area that was abandoned years ago, and integrate it into the new urban plan for Madrid. That is the ambitious project that the real estate company Metrovacesa finds itself immersed in.

The company has decided to convert the Clesa factory – the former dairy brand of the Ruiz Mateos group – in Madrid, into a residential area with all sorts of amenities, as well as hotels and retail spaces. The project includes the demolition of 16 industrial warehouses that make up the complex, but one building, created by the architect Alejandro de la Sota, will be maintained. “The disused building was neglected by the former tenants, which constructed adjoining properties. We have been working on (this project) for months and in the end, last Friday, we got the green light from the Town Hall of Madrid for the classification (of the property) as a protected building”, explained Carlos García León yesterday, Director General at Metrovacesa.

The area, located on Avenida Cardenal Herrara Oria in Madrid, next to the Ramón y Cajal hospital and with 90,000 square metres of buildable area, has been empty for the last six years, when the business conglomerate owned by the Ruiz Mateos families ran into financial difficulties. Metrovacesa has been the joint owner of the factory since 2006 and in 2013, it became the sole owner of the property.

Now, and with an investment of more than €30 million, Metrovacesa will reduce the buildable surface area to 70,000 square metres, of which 9,000 m2 relate to De La Sota’s protected building; the remainder will be split as follows: 60% for homes, both unsubsidised (free homes) and subsidised social housing; and 40% for tertiary properties.

“We have listened to the requests made by people in the area, such as the families of patients at the hospital, who do not have retail areas or hotel rooms to stay in”, explains José Antonio Granero, Dean of Madrid’s Official College of Architects (el Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid or COAM).

Competition for ideas

The first phase of this new urban development will feature the protected building. To this end, Metrovacesa has teamed up with COAM to hold a competition for ideas to renovate the property, designed in 1959 and completed in 1961, to find a new use for it. “The competition will be announced next week once the Town Hall’s approval of the change to the general plan has been published in the BOE”, explain sources at COAM. The decision to award the project will evaluate both the proposals for the provision of services in the area, as well as their technical and economic feasibility. Interested architects may submit their proposals to a panel comprising directors from Metrovacesa, architects from COAM and members of Madrid’s Town Hall.

For the renovation of this space alone, the real estate company will invest between €15 million and €20 million.

Furthermore, Metrovacesa has signed an agreement with Adif for the transfer of 1,000 square metres of space, which the railway manager will use to improve the station that is currently closest to the site. “Adif is going to build a footbridge to link the area with the Ramón y Cajal hospital, which is currently separated from the complex by the train tracks.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake