Tag: inhabitants

Málaga is the Province with the Third Highest Cadastral Values in Spain

25 June 2018 – Diario Sur

The real estate bubble burst a decade ago, but the effects of the boom that the property sector experienced before the crisis are still reflected in the cadastral values of the assets in the province, a circumstance that would not be so important, if it wasn’t for the fact that this variable is the one that the administrations use to set the tax rate for the state (IRPF and property), the region (Sales and Transfers) and municipalities (IBI and capital gains). Although in recent years, those values have been corrected downwards to reflect market prices, the reality is that the strong pull of the Costa del Sol places Málaga in third position in the national ranking of Spain’s highest cadastral values. Together, the 1.45 million properties registered in the province have a total value of €114.1 million, which translates into an average of €78,598 each.

That average, which is well above the national average (€59,424), is exceeded only by the Community of Madrid (€115,779) and the Balearic Islands (€81,234), and comes ahead of Barcelona with an average €76,944. According to statistics managed by the General Directorate of the Cadastro, the differences are also more than considerable compared to other provinces of a similar size, such as Valencia (€51,271), Zaragoza (€66,914) and Sevilla (€55,397), as well as with other predominantly tourist areas, such as Alicante (€45,481), Las Palmas (€64,054) and Tenerife (€56,601).

The trend in recent years has been downwards after the peak of 2013 (€90,770 on average), although the current figures are still a long way from the €49,921 that was registered in 2006. That reduction is the result of the updates to the cadastral figures that are being made in most municipalities, be it because they are due because ten years have passed since the last update, or because the Town Halls have requested them once five years have passed and provided substantial differences exist vis-à-vis market prices (…).

Whilst the differences are notable between different parts of the country, if we zoom in on the province of Málaga, we also see significant variations between the 103 municipalities that comprise the province, where the average is €78,600. The western coast takes the biscuit with Benahavís in the lead, with an average of €154,770. That figure doubles the average for Málaga capital (€70,201) and is explained by La Zagaleta, the most luxurious urbanisation in Europe. Although clearly not all of the properties in this municipality of barely 7,350 inhabitants have the same value, the 14,437 properties there have a combined value of €2.2 billion, placing it above cities such as Antequera and Ronda in the ranking even though those towns issue twice as many receipts (29,415 and 25,403, respectively).

Just behind Benahavís is neighbouring Marbella, with an average of €125,350, and other towns in the area such as Ojén (€103,790), Mijas (€96,780) and Manilva (€90,960). Alhaurín de la Torre also sneaks into the top of the ranking, whilst on the next step down are other municipalities on the west coast such as Benalmádena (€88,040), Estepona (€80,440) and Fuengirola (€79,090).

Original story: Diario Sur (by Francisco Jiménez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ministry of Development: Average Urban Land Prices Rose by 7.8% in Q3

15 December 2017 – El Mundo

The average price of urban land per square metre rose by 7.8% in YoY terms during the third quarter of the year, to €162/m2, whereas it decreased by 2.6% with respect to the previous quarter, according to Land Price Statistics from the Ministry of Development.

In towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants, the average price of land per square metre rose by 5.6% in YoY terms, to reach €287.5/m2

With regards to those towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants, the highest average prices were recorded in the provinces of Madrid (€485.7/m2), Barcelona (€447.6/m2) and the Balearic Islands (€375.1), whilst the lowest prices were registered in Huesca (€48.4/m2), Cádiz (€115.3/m2) and León (€120/m2).

Similarly, the number of transactions completed during the third quarter amounted to 4,545, down by 24.2% compared to the number carried out during the second quarter of the year (5,998) and 2.4% fewer than the number performed during the third quarter of 2016, when 4,656 plots were sold.

By size, in towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, 366 transactions were recorded, up by 3.4% compared to the same quarter in 2016; and in towns with between 1,000 and 5,000 inhabitants, 857 plots were sold, up by 6.1% YoY.

In towns with between 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, 763 transactions were recorded (up by 14.2% YoY) and in those towns with a population of between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, 1,591 transactions were signed (+0.8% YoY).

Finally, in those towns with a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants, the number of plots sold in the third quarter of 2017 was 968, up by 5.7% compared to the third quarter last year.

17.8% more space sold

The statistics from the Ministry of Development also show that the surface area sold until September amounted to 6.3 million m2, worth €765.1 million.

With respect to the third quarter of 2016, the YoY variations represent a 17.8% increase in terms of the surface area sold and an 18% decrease in the value of those plots.

Original story: El Mundo

Translation: Carmel Drake

Sevilla’s Population Will Exceed 700,000 Again Thanks To Aedas Homes

8 November 2017 – Sevilla ABC

The new neighbourhood of Hacienda del Rosario, in the east of Sevilla, will raise the census of the city above 700,000 inhabitants once again, thanks to the investment being made by Aedas Homes, which has rescued more than 33,000 m2 of developable land next to the Parsi industrial estate that had been blocked since the start of the crisis. As El Confidencial revealed in February, the Town Hall managed to free up this land, which had been left for dead since the property developer Gabrial Rojas gave up on its construction, and granted all of the permits necessary for Aedas to carry out the construction of a complex comprising 1,047 homes, divided into seven urbanisations. This project had been one of the city council’s priorities since Juan Ignacio Zoido took office and in the end, thanks to the investment from this business group in which the US fund Castlelake holds a stake, it will go ahead, to fulfil the urban development plan designed by the Town Hall, which is seeking to continue to grow the city to the east, the most populated area of the Andalucían capital.

The construction of the first phase is already quite advanced and, according to reports from Aedas, the properties are being sold a quite a fast rate. So much so that they have now started to sell the second phase. The intention is that the new neighbourhood will be completed in its entirety over the next three years.

The Jardines Hacienda Rosario residential complex covers the area from the Parsi industrial estate to the Decathlon in Alcalá de Guadaíra (…). One of its key features is its common areas. In fact, the proposal of Aedas Homes is to build a park measuring 33,000 m2 in private free spaces, as well as a social club, a children’s play area, sports courts, padel courts, a swimming pool for children and another one for adults.

In total, seven buildings are going to be constructed in successive phases with these characteristics, which means that, by the end of the process, there will be 4,000 additional residents in the area (…).

Construction of the first phase of Jardines Hacienda Rosario has been awarded to the construction firm San José and Banco Santander is the entity that is financing the development for the construction of these multi-family homes, measuring between 96 m2 and 125 m5 each. The total investment amounts to €100 million.

The price of the homes will range between €115,000 and €130,000 (…). Moreover, the Town Hall also plans to build 802 social housing properties on the site, which will make La Hacienda del Rosario one of the city’s largest neighbourhoods, with almost 2,000 properties, occupying a total surface area of 460,000 m (…).

All of this should be considered in the context that next to Hacienda del Rosario, other developments are also being built at the moment, such as Hacienda San Antonio and Residencial La Plata (…).

According to the most recent official data from INE, the city of Sevilla currently has 690,566 inhabitants, although the Town Hall elevates that figure to 698,690 (…). If Sevilla were to have more than 700,000 inhabitants once again, the revenues it receives from the State would increase substantially (…).

Original story: Sevilla ABC (by Alberto García Reyes)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Private Housing Developments Reactivate Sevilla’s Crisis-Hit Neighbourhoods

26 October 2017 – Sevilla ABC

The new residential expansion zones planned for Sevilla and its metropolitan area will move from paper to reality over the next five years. The economic recovery and express reactivation of the property sector will allow neighbourhoods to be established once again, after the crisis reduced many of them to isolated developments without any services or public infrastructure.

Perhaps the clearest example of this new panorama is Entrenúcleos, in Dos Hermanas, where plans are afoot to construct 2,500 homes. The project has been entrusted to Insur and BBVA, which has already started to market the first phase, involving almost 300 properties. That development will be built in parallel to that of the social housing blocks promised by the real estate firm Altamira – a subsidiary of Banco Santander – and the Ferrocarril group.

The growth of this Nazarene enclave was originally reflected in the PGOU approved in 2002, with a view to creating a neighbourhood with more than 20,000 inhabitants, almost a small city between the urban centres of Dos Hermanos and Montequinto.

The latter nucleus has also undergone significant residential expansion  in recent times thanks to the company Bekinsa, which has constructed several developments in the area around Avenida de Europa, the last remaining space left to build on, next to the Metro stop, where a couple of urbanisations have already been sold, for delivery this year, and where off-plan apartments are being sold, for delivery in 2019.

More buildings are going to be built next to these homes on plots, located next to the shopping centre, which have been acquired by Quintos, S.A., with capacity for 800 two-, three- and four-bedroom homes.

In the Andalucian capital, the cranes are already appearing in the neighbourhoods on the outskirts, where there are still large blocks of land left to populate. As set out in the Urban Development Plan, the city will continue to grow eastwards, with a new recently announced development. It will be constructed by the Madrilenian company Vía Célere, which has acquired the former plots of the real estate company Osuna after they ended up in the hands of BBVA. The investment has exceeded €26 million and will allow for the construction of 1,700 homes on the land closest to the water park, on the Airport Industrial Estate (…)

New neighbourhoods

The property developer Metrovacesa is also working on a residential plan of a similar scale on land in Palmas Altas, taking advantage of the interest that the new shopping centre will generate there and the recent agreement that it has reached with the Town Hall to push ahead with the initiative (…).

The final area of residential expansion in Sevilla is Hacienda Rosario, located next to Torreblanca, where 1,977 homes are due to be constructed around a large park, which will form the lungs of the new neighbourhood. Of those, around 800 will be social housing properties and the remainder will be private homes (…).

Another aspect that has caught people’s attention is the decided commitment from the American investment funds to the real estate sector in Sevilla. Several, such as Värde Partners (through Vía Célere) and Aedas Homes, which is leading the project in Hacienda Rosario, will be looking to the Andalucian capital to push ahead with their plans over the next five years.

Original story: Sevilla ABC (by Elena Martos)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Drago & Murias Invest €50M To Build Melilla’s First Shopping Centre

25 October 2017 – Eje Prime

Drago Capital is adding a new project to its portfolio. The real estate manager is finalising the launch of Parque Melilla, the first shopping centre located in the autonomous city of Melilla. The group, which has joined forces with Grupo Murias (to take care of the construction work) has invested €50 million in the project, according to explanations provided by company sources to Eje Prime.

The shopping centre, which is being commercialised by LyC Consultores, has been built on land that formerly housed the Valenzuela Barracks. It will have a gross leasable area (GLA) of 34,600 m2 in total, spread over two open floors, with parking for 1,350 vehicles.

The centre will be a mixed format retail park style (given that the gross leasable area will range between 20,000 m2 and 39,999 m2), with an area that will house a hypermarket along with small and medium-sized stores for fashion and services, and another space where the large format operators will compete.

According to Drago, the construction work is being carried out in record time: the starting gun was fired in September 2016 and more than 80% of the property has already been built. At the moment, Drago is working on fine-tuning the premises of the various operators and the centre is expected to open before the end of the year. The whole project will generate around 580 direct jobs and around 800 indirect roles when it opens its doors.

The centre is almost completely occupied. 85% of the premises have been leased to fashion, electronics and sports groups, as well as restaurant chains. Some of the brands that are going to open stores in the centre include H&M, Decathlon, Springfield, C&A, Inditex, Eroski, Worten, Inside, Multiópticas, Cortefiel, Primor, Guess and Levi’s.

As a result of this shopping centre, Melilla will lose its title as the only Spanish region without this format of retail offering, which will serve as a gateway for brands that do not have a presence in the city yet. The population in Parque Melilla’s catchment area amounts to almost 400,000 inhabitants.

Since its inception, Drago Capital has launched and managed fourteen investment vehicles encompassing more than 1,200 properties in Spain and Portugal. The company is dividing its business in two. On the one hand, Drago Capital has developed its asset management business, which offers services ranging from administrative management to property management, as well as the implementation of divestment and refinancing strategies.

The group also manages several investment vehicles on the Iberian Peninsula, in which large institutional investors hold stakes. Drago primarily manages two types of vehicles, those involving private capital and those involving managed accounts and joint ventures, which are specific vehicles oriented at covering the specific real estate investment needs of institutional investors (…).

Original story: Eje Prime (by Custodio Pareja)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bilbao To Build 13,000 New Homes In Growth Areas

16 October 2017 – El Correo

Bilbao is fine-tuning where the city is going to grow in the future. The next General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), the instrument that will regulate the city’s development over the next thirty years, is reserving land on which 13,000 new homes are going to be built, in some of the most prominent areas of the city.

Specifically, it confirms the construction of 8,500 homes in Zorrozaurre, Punta Zorroza – a project that has not been defined yet – and Bolueta, where a lack of demand has forced the local government to convert a residential tower that was already designed in the plans into VPO (social housing) properties. The remaining 4,500 homes are planned for Elorrieta, Olabeaga, the Irala area –spread across industrial units still pending reclassification – and the “lid” of the Abando underground station.

The preview of the PGOU, which was unveiled to the public on Friday by decision of the local PNV-PSE Government, considers that the figure of 13,000 homes has “the capacity to support a similar number of inhabitants” to the number living in the city today – 342,481 residents, according to the latest report from Eustat. The population, which has been ageing and in progressive decline for the last decade, represents one of Bilbao’s future challenges.

Another challenge facing the next PGOU is the balance of social housing and the rate of growth that respects the environment, especially in the case of mobility. In this sense, the urban planning rules include several operations to eliminate obstacles, which have been requested repeatedly by citizens: the Rekalde section of the motorway viaduct – a project that also depends on the Diputación – and the placing underground of roads in the neighbourhoods of Zorroza and Olabeaga. The latter neighbourhood has opted to “exclusively” develop residential when the goods line disappears.

Original story: El Correo (by José Mari Reviriego)

Translation: Carmel Drake

ST: New House Prices Rose By 3.7% YoY In June

3 July 2017 – Expansión

The average price of new homes in Spain’s provincial capitals amounted to €2,156/m2 in June, up by 3.7% compared to the same month last year, which represents the highest increase since 2007, according to the latest report from Sociedad de Tasación.

During the first six months of this year, the rise amounted to 1.7%.

With this average price, a typical home measuring 90 m2 costs around €194,000.

In the other cities included in the report (those that are not provincial capitals), the average price amounted to €1,560/m2, which represents an increase of 0.3% since the end of 2016.

If we analyse house prices on the basis of the population of each city, new home prices rose by 1.2% YoY in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants that are not provincial capitals.

The rise amounted to 1% in cities with between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants; 1.3% in cities/towns with between 25,000 and 50,000 inhabitants; and 0.3% in cities/towns with fewer than 25,000 inhabitants.

According to Sociedad de Tasación, this data shows that the heterogeneity in the market is continuing, as the sector is still developing “at two speeds”.

Barcelona is the most expensive provincial capital, with an average price of €3,631/m2, followed by San Sebastián (€3,353/m2) and Madrid (€3,306/m2).

In the provincial capitals with the highest tourist influx, rental prices are rising at a double-digit pace.

Sociedad de Tasación reiterated its warning about the possibility of that trend having an impact over the medium and long term and generating an increase in the prices of homes and land, as well as in the number of operations.

Sociedad de Tasación’s Real Estate Confidence Index continued its upwards trend, with a rise of 2.1 points during the first half of the year, to 56.6 points.

The index also continued above its neutral position, which is 50 points.

The Real Estate Effort Index, which measures the number of years of full salary that it takes an average citizen to buy a home, increased slightly with respect to the previous quarter to amount to 7.5 years.

Nevertheless, the figure was one tenth lower than the level recorded in June 2016 (7.6 years).

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

INE: House Sales Rose By 17.3% YoY In Nov 2016

16 January 2017 – El Economista

House sales rose by 17.3% in November 2016 compared to the same month in 2015, to reach 33,806 operations, according to data published on Thursday by Spain’s National Institute for Statistics (INE).

This increase, which represents the tenth month of consecutive YoY increases, exceeds the rise recorded in October 2016, when those operations rose by 6.5% YoY.

Transactions involving second-hand homes rose by 19.8% with respect to November 2015, to reach 27,996 operations, whilst sales of new homes rose by 6.8% YoY to reach 5,810 transactions.

90.3% of the homes sold during the eleventh month of the year were unsubsidised and 9.7% were protected (unsubsidised). Sales of unsubsidised homes rose by 17.4% YoY in November, to reach 30,514 transactions, meanwhile operations involving protected (subsidised) homes increased by 16.5% to 3,292 transactions.

During the first eleven months of 2016, house sales recorded a cumulative increase of 14.2% compared with the same period in 2015, thanks to an increase of 18.5% in terms of second-hand house sales, whereas new build house sales declined by 1.4%.

In monthly terms (November 2016 compared with October 2015), house sales rose by 15.1%, their highest MoM increase in more than five years.

Andalucía leads the house sales ranking

In November 2016, the highest number of house sales per 100,000 inhabitants was recorded in the Balearic Islands (138), the Community of Valencia (133) and Andalucía and the Canary Islands (99 in both cases).

Andalucía was the region that saw the most absolute house sales during the eleventh month of the year, with 6,541 sales, followed by Cataluña (5,476), the Community of Valencia (5,216) and Madrid (4,563).

The autonomous regions that saw the lowest absolute number of house sales were La Rioja (233), Navarra (363) and Cantabria (440).

In relative terms, the regions that saw the highest YoY variations in the number of house sales were the Balearic Islands (+32.8%), the Canary Islands (+26.3%) and Aragón (+25.8%). YoY increases were recorded in every single autonomous region.

Increase in the total number of properties sold

If we look at rural and urban (homes plus other properties of an urban nature) properties, then property sales in November amounted to 143,470 in total, up by 6.8% compared to the same month in 2015, to reach the highest absolute figure since June. (…).

In November 2016, the highest number of property sales registered per 100,000 inhabitants was recorded in Aragón (628), Castilla y León (604) and La Rioja (577).

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Knight Frank: 150,000 New Homes Will Be Built Per Year By 2019

14 December 2016 – El País

The construction of new homes is going to continue to increase over the next three years to reach 150,000 units per annum. The activity will centre on Madrid, Málaga, Barcelona, País Vasco and the Balearic Islands, the provinces with the highest residential forecasts going into 2017, according to the annual Trends in the Residential Market in Spain report, compiled by the real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank. Over the next three years, new builds will gain ground to account for 30% of all sales, compared with second-hand homes, which will account for 70%. Currently, just 10% of sales involve new builds and there are only 11 units available for every 1,000 inhabitants. Moreover, the supply of new homes coming onto the market is getting completely absorbed, which means that no new home stock is being generated.

There will also be changes in terms of the type of new homes. Whilst in recent years, homes with three or more bedrooms have been the most demanded, the consultancy firm forecasts that homes with two or fewer bedrooms will start to lead the ranking once again. According to Ernesto Tarazona, Managing Partner for Residential and Land at Knight Frank, “the macro data supports this change in trend. We have fewer inhabitants and yet the number of households is growing. In other words, we have more households with fewer members; in Spain, 25% of households comprise one person and 30% comprise two people”.

Whilst the number of transactions involving second-hand homes is increasing in every autonomous community, the number of operations involving new builds is only growing in those regions with the greatest economic pull: over the last year, new build sales have grown by 40% in Madrid, by 18% in the Balearic Islands, by 5% in Barcelona and by 20% in País Vasco.

Price rises

In terms of prices, Spain registered a change in trend in 2014 and since then prices have increased by 3% on average. The lack of new developments has meant that new build homes have retained their value and have an average price of €1,750/m2, whilst second-hand homes cost around €1,500/m2. The provinces with the highest average prices (both for new build and second-hand properties) are Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya and Madrid.

The housing stock has been absorbed over the last three years, at an average rate of 20,000 new homes per year. Knight Frank calculates that just 2% of the total housing stock in Spain corresponds to new builds. Nevertheless, approximately 30% will be hard to sell due to location and conditions. (…).

The consultancy points out that the change in trend in the residential sector in Spain is already happening. “All of the segments (supply, demand, land and investment) bottomed out at the end of 2013 and started the road to recovery in 2014. This recovery was very slight in 2014 and 2015, but during 2016, the main indicators have experienced stable growth, and they have potential for improvement. As such, we are facing a new cycle of expansion in the residential sector”.

Original story: El País (by S.L.L.)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España Invests €53M In Shopping Centre In Sagunto

29 September 2016 – Mis Locales

Lar España Real Estate has presented its plans for “VidaNova Parc”, a new project in which it plans to invest €53 million and which will open its doors in 2018.

VidaNova Parc has been presented with a surface area of 120,000 sqm, of which 44,000 sqm corresponds to the gross leasable area and the rest to open spaces, roads, gardens and parking spaces. It is being created to bridge a gap in the current market and will become a unique shopping centre and family leisure complex in its immediate environment. Around 250,000 inhabitants live in its catchment area (…).

Lar España’s investment in the project is expected to amount to €53 million, in addition to another €40 million that the operators moving into the shopping centre will have to invest. The complex will open its doors in 2018.

The site has a leasable surface area of 44,000 sqm.

With the launch of the construction work at VidaNova Parc, the first operators in the main consumer sectors have already been confirmed, including Leroy Merlín, Decathlon, C&A, Worten, Norauto, Burger King and Fifty Factory (Cortefiel Group). They will be joined by more than thirty brands….in this new shopping centre and leisure park. In addition, the centre will have 2,300 parking spaces.

José Manuel Llovet, Head of the Retail Area at Lar España Real Estate, has highlighted the strong presence of the company in the country through its ten shopping and leisure centres and the two projects that it has under construction. “Our mission, which is a major business priority, is to consolidate our activity in Spain; we want to grow with it, generate wealth, promote employment, and whereby boost the sector and innovate in the field of shopping and leisure”.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake