Tag: Ibertasa

Tinsa & Sociedad de Tasación are the Banks’ Preferred Appraisal Companies

17 May 2018 – Expansión

Last year, the banks commissioned appraisals for properties worth €200 billion. The valuation of these assets was performed by a well-nourished group of entities that have been authorised by the Bank of Spain to undertake these types of operations.

Tinsa and Sociedad de Tasación swept the board in this sector, with market shares of 28.7% and 13.9%, respectively, according to the total revenues for the sector for 2017, which amounted to €284 million, according to data from AEV, the main trade association.

The appraisal sector was particularly badly hit by the consequences of the real estate crisis, given that their valuations, which in some cases did not reflect the reality, contributed to the inflation of the real estate bubble which then burst.

The appraisals performed last year represent one third of those recorded in 2007 when the figure reached €600 billion according to data from the Bank of Spain.

There was also a lack of professionalism in this sector, on which the Bank of Spain has imposed several sanctions in recent years, in some cases on firms that have now disappeared.

More control

Following the crisis, the banks also liquidated their own appraisal companies and, since then, independence and professionalism have reigned.

“The Bank of Spain has increased its control over the sector in the last three years, something that is good news and that works in our favour”, says Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, CEO at Sociedad de Tasación. By way of example, he comments that the supervisor now “requires us to provide 350 information fields for every appraisal”. (…).

In another change, Santander commissioned its appraisals from half a dozen different companies last year, namely: Tinsa, Eurovaloraciones, Ibertasa, Tasaciones Hipotecarias, Krata and Hispania de Tasaciones.

The group explains in its accounts for last year that its strategy, when it comes to choosing these entities, is governed by “the requirements of independence, neutrality and credibility to not undermine the reliability of their valuations” (…).

BBVA works with fifteen appraisal companies including Tinsa and Sociedad de Tasación. The bank confirms that it engages these entities due to “their reputation, independence and recognition in the market, given that they are capable of providing valuations that most appropriately reflect the reality of the market in each region” (…).

Bankia is the entity that engaged the fewest appraisal companies in 2017. It hired Tinsa, Gesvalt, Tecnitasa, UVE and Arco Valoraciones. Sabadell, by contrast, reports in its accounts for last year that it worked with around 30 firms.

Original story: Expansión (by E. del Pozo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Charme & Miura Finalise Purchase Of Valtecnic & Ibertasa

25 May 2017 – El Confidencial

A major new operation is brewing in the property appraisal sector in Spain. The private equity firms Charme Capital Partners and Miura Private Equity are about to close the purchase (to acquire a majority stake) of the appraisal companies Valtecnic and Ibertasa, according to sources close to the operation. Some finishing touches still need to be completed, such as obtaining approval from the Bank of Spain.

Charme and Miura are joining forces to acquire these two real estate services firms, which will continue to operate independently in the domestic market. In other words, the investment funds will co-invest in and take control of both companies, but will not merge them. In addition, the management teams of the two appraisal companies will continue at the helm as well as in their roles as minority shareholders.

Last year, Charme came very close to acquiring Tinsa, the largest company in the property appraisal sector in Spain, but that firm ended up being purchased by another private equity firm, Cinven, which paid Advent €300 million. Meanwhile, Miura invested in Group BC through its first fund until the end of 2015 – that company is dedicated to the outsourcing of services from financial institutions (mortgage advisory, recoveries…).

These operations represent the indirect entry of private equity firms into the real estate sector and their clear commitment to an upwards cycle. According to data from the Spanish Association of Value Analysis (AEV), the number of property appraisals grew by 13% during the first quarter of 2017, to 228,879 in total, worth €75,620 million, up by 3.1% with respect to the same period a year earlier. (…).

The number of appraisal companies has been cut in half

The appraisal sector was hit hard by the burst of the real estate bubble although, like in the property development sector, to the extent that the mortgage activity is resuming, so the volume of appraisals is also showing signs of recovery. Nevertheless, the crisis took a serious toll and led to the disappearance of lots of companies. Whilst in 2011, there were 58 appraisal companies, by the end of 2016, that figure had fallen to 37.

Nevertheless, in recent years, several companies, above all in the real estate consultancy sector, have broken into this market with their own appraisal businesses. Such was the case of CBRE Valuation Advisory, Aguirre Newman Valoraciones and UVE Valoraciones in 2011. More recently, another consultancy firm, JLL, obtained approval from the Bank of Spain for its appraisal business, which operates under the JLL brand.

Valuations

On the other hand, like in the property development sector, the activity of the appraisal companies has not been without controversy, especially for the role that they played in the real estate bubble. The appraisal companies have been repeatedly accused of producing inflated appraisal values at the height of the boom and of continuing to do so even in the face of a depressed market.

In addition, concerns regarding the transparency and independence of these entities caused the Bank of Spain to force the banks and savings banks to disassociate themselves from the appraisal companies in terms of ownership. That decision resulted in the disappearance of several players, such as Tabimed (Banco Sabadell) and TVG (Abanca). Others changed activity, such as Sivasa (Banco Santander), whilst others still, such as Tasamadrid (Bankia), were sold.

Original story: El Confidencial (by E. Sanz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Property Appraisal Sector Grows For 2nd Year Running

20 April 2016 – El Mundo

The combined turnover of the 23 appraisal companies that belong to the Spanish Association of Value Analysis (‘la Asociación Española de Análisis de Valor’ or AEV) amounted to €221.4 million in 2015, up by 8% compared with 2014. This is undoubtedly a clear sign of the recovery in the real estate sector. Moreover, these figures show that activity in the sector grew for the second year in a row.

This upwards trend was also reflected in the number of property appraisals performed, which rose by 28.6%, to 872,480 operations, worth €313,932 million.

Of that total, 461,131 valuations were performed on homes, and 457,569 complete appraisals were carried out for mortgage purposes, 19.7% more than in 2014, and the value of those efforts increased by 25%.

The 23 appraisal companies, which account for 90% of the sector by revenue, also carried out five million statistical or other valuations, which contributed significantly to the increase in turnover.

In the words of the AEV’s secretary José Manuel Gómez de Miguel, the aggregate data published by our members allows us to affirm that “these two years of positive data show that there has been a turnaround in terms of appraisal activity in our country, which, along with many other indicators, may be extrapolated to activity in the real estate sector as a whole and to mortgage lending”.

“This data”, added Gómez de Miguel, “also alludes to the flexibility and adaptability of the large, medium-sized and small companies that make up the different areas of the sector”.

Ranking by turnover

The table in the article lists the ranking of the 23 appraisal companies that belong to the AEV, by turnover. The Top 5 (Tinsa, Sociedad de Tasación, Valtecnic, Ibertasa and Gesvalt) account for more than 65% of the total turnover, after they reported very similar figures to last year.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake