Tag: metropolitan areas

Blackstone May Cease Investing in Spain if the Rental Legislation Changes

27 February 2019 – Idealista

The senior director of Blackstone’s real estate division, James Seppala, has indicated at a meeting that his firm will continue investing in the Spanish real estate sector, but only provided that the regulatory framework for the rental sector remains stable. The declarations come at a time when the Spanish government is negotiating approval, with support from Podemos in extremis, for a royal decree that seeks to modify the Urban Rental Act (LAU) and to limit rental prices.

At a meeting organised by Bloomberg (…), Seppala added that his firm will continue to back the real estate sector, especially in Madrid, Barcelona and their metropolitan areas, which offer returns of between 6% and 7%. He is convinced that there is no risk of prices overheating in those areas (…).

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

Tinsa: House Prices Rose by 3.6% in January

6 February 2018 – El País

House prices rose again in January, in both the new build and second-hand segments. Overall, prices increased by 3.6% with respect to the same month in 2017, according to the appraisal company Tinsa. But the average increase across the country was well below the figures seen in the capitals and large cities as well as in the Balearic and Canary Islands, which recorded the highest price rises of the last 12 months in January, with increases of 5.1% and 4.1%, respectively. In metropolitan areas, the rise amounted to 3.2%, whilst along the Mediterranean Coast, house prices increased by 3%. In small towns, the increase amounted to just 0.9%.

Although average prices in Spain have recovered by 7.6% from the minimum levels reached during the crisis, they are still 38.3% below their maximums of 2007. In fact, the values registered in January place the price of finished homes at June 2013 levels. With respect to the historical maximums, the evolution of the residential market is still slow, in particular along the Mediterranean Coast, where prices are still 47% below their peaks.

The cumulative decrease in metropolitan areas as well as in capitals and large cities is also still above the average, at 43.3% and 39.7%, respectively. The Balearic and Canary Islands are the regions that have performed the best since the crisis, recording a cumulative decrease of 24.1% over the last 10 years, followed by small Spanish towns, with a cumulative decrease of 36.2%.

Original story: El País

Translation: Carmel Drake

Vbare Debuts On The MAB With Almost 200 Rental Homes

27 December 2016 – Idealista

With just a few days left until the end of the year, the stock market is still receiving new Socimis. The trickle of debuts is incessant and on this occasion, the star of the show is Vbare Iberian Properties, a vehicle that owns a portfolio of residential rental assets.

The company has debuted on the stock market at a price of €12.90 per share, which represents a market capitalisation of €20.6 million, according to the consultancy firm Grant Thornton, and as such has become the twenty-eighth Socimi to trade on the MAB.

According to idealista.com, the company is backed by foreign capital (one of its main shareholders is the Israeli investment firm Value Base) and it has 183 real estate assets in its portfolio. Almost all of them are homes, but the Socimi also owns some garage spaces and some storerooms.

All of the properties are rented out and are located in the Community of Madrid. They are worth €20.84 million in total, according to Aguirre Newman. Half of the homes are located in Madrid capital, although the company also owns other homes in the municipalities of Aranjuez, Móstoles, Parla and Torrejón de Ardoz. In total, they have a useful surface area of more than 2,000 m2, comprise between one and four bedrooms and have an average occupancy rate of 72%.

One of the objectives that Vbare has set itself for the future is to raise more funds to allow it to expand its asset portfolio and to make the jump onto the main stock market, where some of the largest Socimis are already listed (Lar, Hispania and Axiare; meanwhile, Merlin Properties is listed on the Ibex).

In its market debut prospectus, the Socimi explained that it wants to centre its portfolio on residential real estate assets, aimed at middle-class tenants and located in the metropolitan areas of Spain’s major cities. In other words, areas with significant demand and with future development prospects in the short and medium term.

“Our properties are currently located in the metropolitan area of Madrid, this represents our first phase of investment. Progressively, the Socimi plans to diversify its asset portfolio by acquiring properties in the metropolitan areas of the main provincial capitals in Barcelona, Málaga, Valencia, Alicante, Bilbao, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Palma de Mallorca and La Coruña, which represent the company’s core business”.

Original story: Idealista

Translation: Carmel Drake

RR Acuña: House Prices Will Rise By 2.3% In 2016 & By 5% In 2018

20 December 2016 – El País

House prices will grow by around 2.3% in 2016 and will gradually increase to reach a growth rate of 5% in 2018. That figure will then remain stable until the end of the decade, according to forecasts presented in the twentieth edition of the Spanish Real Estate Market Statistical Yearbook for 2016, published by R.R. Acuña & Asociados. According to the report, the evolution of prices in each local market may “be very different from the rates expected for Spain as a whole”.

In 2015, price rises were recorded in just 46.8% of Spain’s municipalities, and price decreases are still expected to be seen in a decent number of them over the next few years. The consecutive decreases in prices over the last eight years arose due to the significant mismatch between supply and demand, which has characterised the performance of the Spanish real estate market, still weighed down by the high volume of stock.

Demand has strengthened in the main metropolitan areas and along the tourist coasts over the last two years, thanks to the expectations of economic growth and the significant improvement in employment. Similarly, growth has been observed in terms of demand and sales, and that trend is expected to last for the short term, at least, given the current economic forecasts.

The conclusions of the yearbook point to a return to equilibrium, thanks to an increase in sales and the recovery in prices in some areas of the market. In this way, the study predicts that the supply of new homes will reach a minimum of 40,000 finished homes in 2016, and that over the next two years, there will be sustained growth in specific areas of expansion across the country, where the stock of new housing is practically non-existent.

Demand for new homes

Meanwhile, demand for new homes will reach a minimum this year, with almost 82,000 homes. R.R. de Acuña forecasts that a quasi equilibrium between supply and demand will be reached in 2018, with a stock of 341,000 homes.

This would mean that the dissolution of most of the new home stock would be practically unfeasible over the long term and that the adjustment of the new home stock in areas of expansion will have been completed. Estimates indicate that a stock of 1.468 million empty homes was put up for sale in Spain in 2015. 218,000 homes have been dissolved since 2010.

In terms of second-hand homes, bequests of the net second-hand supply will continue to grow and will represent between 40% and 50% of demand for second-hand homes. The demand forecasts for second-hand homes indicate a dissolution of almost 330,000 homes each year until 2018, which will become increasingly moderate.

In 2015, the total housing stock amounted to 25.5 million, of which 18.6 million were primary homes, 4.4 million were secondary homes and 2.5 million were empty homes, resulting in a ratio of 1.4 homes per household, compared with the EU average of 1.12.

Original story: El País

Translation: Carmel Drake

Tinsa: House Prices Rose By 2.2% In Q1 2016

14 April 2016 – 20 Minutos

House prices rose by 2.2% during the first three months of the year. According to Tinsa, the price of flats and houses increased by 0.8% in March with respect to the same month last year.

The appraisal company considers that the average price of homes in Spain is following a “moderate” positive trend for the time being – in other words, it is increasing moderately -. The cumulative decrease since the peaks of 2007 amounts to 41%, according to Tinsa’s IMIE General and Large Markets Index.

By geographic region, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and Mediterranean Coast recorded YoY price increases of 4.3% in March in both cases. Prices rose less sharply in metropolitan areas, with a YoY increase of 2.8%. By contrast, house prices decreased in March in other towns (-1.6%) and in capital and other major cities (-0.3%).

On a cumulative basis since January, the largest increase in house prices were recorded in the Balearic and Canary Islands, with growth of 5.1%. They were followed by price rises in other towns (+3.4%), the Mediterranean Coast (+3.1%), metropolitan areas (+2.2%) and capitals and other major cities (+0.6%).

Since the peaks of 2007, house prices have decreased by 41%. The Mediterranean Coast is the area where prices have decreased by the most (-46.5%), followed by capitals and other major cities (-45.1%), metropolitan areas (-43.8%), other towns (-36.1%) and the Balearic and Canary Islands (-29.1%).

Original story: 20 Minutos

Translation: Carmel Drake

Land Expropriations Will Be Cheaper After Latest Law Reform

3 February 2016 – Cinco Días

After everything that has happened in the real estate sector since property prices and the production of housing came crashing down, perhaps few will remember the major impact that resulted from the approval of the Land Law (8/2007 and RDL 2/2008). The new legislation was created with the aim of stopping judges from using their discretion in administrative litigation cases, so as to prevent them, in certain cases, from assigning fair values to plots of land subject to expropriation, on the basis that, spurred on by strong demand during the boom times, the values being assigned were leading to a speculative phenomenon that was having serious repercussions on the accounts and financial viability of numerous companies.

In this way, the legislator reduced the categories into which land had been divided historically and established the existence of just two classes: urban (plots) and rural (all others). As such, if land that had been used for agricultural production until that time, was going to be expropriated for the construction of a highway, then it would be valued as rural land (…) and not on the basis of the value of the asset to be constructed on it. (…).

In October last year, the new revised draft of the Land Law was approved, which is going to have an even greater influence of the original objective (to lower the cost of expropriations) and which is going to govern the conditions surrounding urban land in a more specific way. In terms of the valuation framework, it is based on a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court in 2014, which declared that setting the location coefficient (correction factor) at a maximum of two was null and unconstitutional.

In other words, the original law established that rural plots could be assigned a location coefficient to correct the value obtained by capitalising the income from the land. In these cases a correction coefficient (up to a maximum of two) could be applied, if the plots were located near to an urban centre or a centre of production or had certain environmental characteristics…. This represented a relief, in the event of an expropriation valuation, for those plots of land that many developers had stockpiled in outlying metropolitan areas of large cities in the hope of obtaining huge profits and which saw their value fall sharply as a result of the new legislation in 2008.

Nevertheless, the high court declared that the coefficient limit of two was unconstitutional and argued…that “it was not justified by the Law or by the preamble and could end up being whimsical, and prevent the real value of the land from being obtained. The court considers that…this limit is contrary to article 33.3 of the Constitution”. That article refers to the fact that “nobody can be deprived of their assets or rights, except on justified grounds for the public good or in social interest, provided proper compensation is paid and in accordance with the provisions of the law”. (…) .

According to Andrés Lorente, Director of Land at Tinsa, the method for valuing rural land involves dividing the land yield (calculated by capitalising the income from the land) by a capitalisation rate and applying that correction factor based on location to the result, where appropriate, where the correction factor may not exceed two.

“The provisions established in the new revised draft reflect higher rates, which means that the resulting land valuations could be significantly lower than those calculated under the previous legislation. Whereas before, the internal yield of the secondary market for public debt with a term of between two and six years was taken as the reference rate, now the average interest rate over the last three years on the State’s debt over 30 years is taken (3.663%)”, say sources at Tinsa.

As such, since the applicable rates have risen significantly, so the resulting land valuations are significantly lower. There are even cases in which expropriations now, under these new rules, result in a cost for the Administrations that is between five and six times lower than it would have been under the legal framework in force in 2008, says Lorente.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Raquel Díaz Guijarro)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Tinsa: House Prices Fall In May 2015 By 3.6% YoY

5 June 2015 – Expansión

According to Tinsa’s IMIE General and Large Markets Index, the average price of new and used housing decreased by 3.6% during the year to May 2015.

Specifically, the index stood at 1,322 points. Tinsa has explained that “the intense downwards variation experienced by the index from June 2014 onwards explains the significant inter-annual differences, even through average prices have remained relatively stable since November”.

Moreover, according to this index, the average house prices in Spain have accumulated a decrease of 42.7% since the peaks of 2007.

Prices by regions

The report also highlights that the average house price in Spain was 1.6% cheaper in May than at the end of 2014; a similar trend has been on the islands (the “Balearic and Canary Islands”), where the cumulative fall with respect to December 2014 amounts to 1.5%.

Towns on the “Mediterranean Coast” are the only ones that closed the first five months of the year with positive growth (+1.4%), although there, average prices in May 2015 were still 2.3% below those recorded in May 2014.

The “Capitals and large cities” recorded the worst performance of all of the areas analysed in May, with a 4.9% YoY decrease. In terms of the intensity of the decrease with respect to the same period last year, they are followed by the “Metropolitan Areas”, with a 3.8% drop and smaller towns, grouped together within the category “Other municipalities”, where average prices were 2.7% lower than in May 2014.

It is important to remember that Tinsa’s IMIE index is compiled using appraisal (values) for finished homes (new and used) prepared by the company. This means that it reflects prices assigned by the appraiser, on which market prices are based, versus other indices, such as the one prepared by the Registrars, which is based on the prices the feature in the deeds signed before Notaries.

Original story: Expansión

Translation: Carmel Drake

Tinsa: House Prices Decreased By 3.67% In February

12 March 2015 – 20 Minutos

House prices have recorded an average cumulative decrease of 42.6% since the end of 2007.

Homes on the Mediterranean Coast have lost more than half their value.

Prices may bottom out in the next few months.

In areas with low demand and significant stock, further price decreases are expected.

A change in the real estate cycle has begun; but since it is a cycle, the changes will not happen overnight. In this way, although prices are now rising in some areas of Spain, in many others, they are still declining and those areas are, for the moment, in the majority.

According to data published by Tinsa, house prices fell by 3.67% in February with respect to the same month in 2014. On the Mediterranean Coast, homes have lost more than half of their value due to the crisis, but prices may bottom out in the next few months.

With respect to the peak prices recorded at the end of 2007, house prices have recorded a cumulative decrease of 42.6%, according to the index prepared by Tinsa. On the Mediterranean Coast, the decrease has been much more pronounced, according to the appraisal company, which highlights that in this region, the cumulative decrease during the crisis has amounted to 51.1%.

In February, house prices decreased by 4.9% and 4.4%, respectively, in large cities and metropolitan areas. Since the peak of the cycle, capitals and large cities have recorded a cumulative decrease of 46.5%, whilst metropolitan areas have experienced a cumulative reduction of 45.5%.

By contrast, the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands recorded a year-on-year increase of 0.7% (in Feburary), whilst on the Mediterranean Coast, the decrease was 4.7%. From the peak levels recorded before the crisis, house prices on the islands have decreased by 32.4%.

In the towns included within “other municipalities”, the decrease in February with respect to the same month in 2014 was 2.1% and since the peak, was 36.1%.

Optimistic forecasts?

Tinsa notes that average house prices began a stabilisation process in 2013, characterised by a moderation in the rate of decline in average prices. “If the optimistic forecasts that various official bodies are predicting for economic growth and employment are fulfilled, then average prices in Spain may bottom out in the next few months”, says the company.

However, it warns that this forecast does not exclude the fact that in localised markets, where demand is particularly weak and there are significant levels of stock, (downwards) adjustments are still expected and there may yet be significant year-on-year decreases.

Original story: 20 Minutos

Translation: Carmel Drake

Bankia Offers More Than 3,500 Homes With Discounts Of Up To 50%

12 February 2015 – El Economista

Bankia has put more than 3,500 homes up for sale across Spain with discounts “in many cases” of up to 50%, which means that 80% of the homes to be offered by the entity until the end of March have an average price of less than €80,000.

The homes, all of which are second hand, are located in urban and coastal areas, ranging from large capital cities, to metropolitan areas and small towns, said Bankia in a statement.

Valencia is the autonomous region with the largest supply of housing, with more than 1,300 properties for sale, followed by Cataluña, with 800; more than 300 properties will be available in Castilla-La Mancha; 200 in the Canary Islands; and more than a hundred in other autonomous regions such as Madrid, Andalucía and Murcia.

Original story: El Economista

Translation: Carmel Drake