Tag: market growth

Investment in Barcelona’s Office Market Reaches 20-Year High

17 December 2019 – Barcelona’s real estate office market is amid an investment boom and is projected to end the year with record investments of 1.7 billion euros. That figure is the highest of the last twenty years, according to a study by Savills Aguirre Newman.

In the year to date, investments in offices in Barcelona have hit 1.4 billion euros. Market sources also expect that another €300-€400 million in deals will be finalised before 2020. Investors, 75% of whom are from outside Spain, have concluded acquisitions of more than sixty buildings, totalling more than 400,000 square meters of surface area, in 2019.

Original Story: Eje Prime – Marc Vidal Ordeig

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Investor Focus in Spain Turns to Student Housing

16 December 2019 – The student housing sector in Spain is in the midst of an almost unprecedented boom. The country is home to 500,000 non-resident students, 100,00 of which come from the Erasmus program. The problem and the subsequent opportunity stem from the fact that a large part of the current supply of rooms is outdated and unattractive. Returns on student housing projects also tend to pay around 5% compared to 3-3.5% for residential and office developments.

There are currently 20 consortiums of institutional investors, local developers and housing operators investing in student housing projects in Spain. Grupo Moraval is the largest developer of student residences by the number of beds and plans to develop 6,500 places in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, Salamanca, Pamplona, ​​Seville, San Sebastián and Malaga by 2023. That figure is equal to 25% of the new residences planned for inauguration over the next three years.

Market studies by Grupo Moraval have shown that, between 2019 and 2022, the supply of beds is projected to grow by 22%: 94,000 beds in 2019 (3.3%), 99,500 seats in 2020 (5.9%), 106,500 in 2021 (7%) and 111,000 beds in 2022 (4.2%). nvestors are planning one billion euros in total investments by the time, according to Nick Wride, a director at JLL Spain.

That growth is already forecast to increase the capacity for supplying students with accommodations to 30% in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Seville, Bilbao, Valencia and Pamplona. At the moment, the supply in those cities is enough for just 15% to 20%.

Original Story: El País – Sandra López Letón

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Growth of Socimis Expected to Fall by Half in 2020 from High in 2019

2 December 2019 – The director of Business Development at Gesvalt, Luis Martín Guiraldo, believes that approximately 19 new socimis will be created in 2019, up from 15 last year. That figure, however, is expected to fall by half in 2020.

The future of the investment vehicle has become somewhat less certain with the formation of a left-leaning government coalition by the PSOE and Podemos political parties. In his report, Mr Guiraldo notes how concentrated investments by socimis are in Madrid and  Barcelona, with only two listed socimis based in other cities (Valencia and Marbella). Total investments follow a similar pattern, with small groups of foreign investors behind the majority of the firms. Government regulators are now expected to take a closer look at the market, dampening the enthusiasm for the sector.

Original Story: Idealista – Carlos Lospitao

Adaptation/Translation: Richard D. K. Turner

Commercial Real Estate Investment Takes Off in 2019

9 July 2019 – Richard D. K. Turner

Commercial real estate investment in the office sector in the first six months of 2019 has already exceeded last year’s total by 13%. Sales totalled €2.595 billion in the first semester, compared to €2.3 billion in all in 2018, according to a study by BNP Paribas. In turn, the sector accounted for 52% of total real estate investment during that same period this year. In particular, sales in the two largest cities in Spain, Madrid and Barcelona, have boosted the market.

Investments in the residential market reached €470 million during the first semester of this year, accounting for 17% of the total. The hotel sector brought in another 12% of investments, while the logistics sector accounted for 18% and the retail sector nearly 14%.

Original Story: Economía Digital