Tag: mobility

30% of the New Builds in Barcelona’s 22@ District will be Social Housing Units

19 November 2018 – La Vanguardia

The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, neighbourhood organisations and economic and social change agents have signed an agreement to modify the 22@ district, to provide it with more social housing and public transport and to avoid the gentrification of the neighbourhood. In this way, the main transformation will be that the percentage of land reserved for social housing in the northern area of the Catalan capital will increase from 10% to 30%. And most of that will be rental housing, although the plan is to also grant some land to cooperatives and social entities so that they can build protected flats in another form. Similarly, The Town Hall wants the 22@ district to be a space for trials and experimentation in the search for solutions to issues relating to housing and mobility.

The 22@ district comprises 200 hectares in Barcelona, which started to be transformed in the year 2000 and which has turned Poblenou into a hub for small and large technological companies. It is a model for long-term success that is now going to change its strategy to obtain a mixture of uses between tertiary and residential. For that reason, on the 80 hectares that are still left to be developed – above La Diagonal – the surface area dedicated to public housing is going to be increased. In total, between 5,000 and 6,000 new flats will be constructed in the space.

Ada Colau has highlighted the critical efforts that many players have made to be able to sign the document that reviews the 22@ district after 18 years of development. “It is a transcendental agreement for the city. Technological innovation is not enough to make a city”, said the mayor. In this sense, she highlighted the importance of building more housing to bring life to the neighbourhood.

The agreement that has been signed this morning establishes two areas within the technological district that will require Modifications to the General Metropolitan Plan in order to carry out the new transformation. On the one hand, the neighbourhoods of Provençals del Poblenou and Maresme, and on the other hand, the areas of Bogatell, Trullàs and Plata del Poblenou. Whilst in the first spaces, the idea is to obtain an equilibrium between offices and housing, increasing the land available for the construction of public homes, in the second, the plan is to declassify the whole area to preserve the old fabric of Poblenou. The experts understand that these buildings, due to their morphology, are not ideal for housing technological activities (…).

Original story: La Vanguardia (by Silvia Angulo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

KF: Inv’t in Offices Amounted to €1.3bn & €0.8bn in Madrid & Barcelona, Respectively, in 2017

13 June 2018 – ABC

The performance of the office sector in Madrid at the end of 2017 bodes well for a “historical” 2018. That is according to all of the investment indicators managed by the real estate experts. Some very positive data for the region, which consolidates the Spanish capital’s position as the most attractive place for companies to locate their headquarters. In fact, it continues to be the greatest magnet for securing capital in the office market with a business volume of €1,324 million – 61% of the aggregated total – compared with €835 million in the Catalan capital. In terms of rented office space, 570,000 m2 was leased in Madrid, compared with 300,000 m2 in Barcelona.

Those are the findings of a recent report about the sector compiled by the consultancy firm Knight Frank, which forecasts greater activity in the sector in Madrid this year due to the rotation of assets by the Socimis and funds to fulfil their business plans. In Madrid, more than 40% of the total investment in 2017 involved funds, which, together with the Socimis outperformed other real estate players during the second half of last year.

The notable differences between the two regional capitals have increased as a result of the effects of the political instability caused by the independence drive and the decrease in tourism that has hit Cataluña. The experts consulted highlight that the rate of company creation has decreased in Cataluña since last summer, whilst in the Community of Madrid, the numbers have increased, with more than 185,000 companies registered with the Social Security at the beginning of 2018.

“The Spanish capital continues to be the key location due to its wide range of opportunities. Net absorption has been increasing for several years and rental prices are still very competitive in comparison with the main European centres”, explains Raúl Vicente, Director of Offices at Knight Frank. Nevertheless, the experts indicate the path that the city should take to become a “super city”. “In terms of the major challenges that it will have to overcome, they include mobility, adaptation to the technological revolution that we are living applied to the service of the city, efficiency, access to housing and an office supply that is commensurate with international demand, amongst others”, highlights the report.

The average price of offices in Madrid’s CBD has been rising in recent years. Prices in the capital now exceed €8,000/m2 on average, whilst in Barcelona, they amount to €6,900/m2. The highest price paid last year was for the former Barclays headquarters in Plaza de Colón, which was purchased from Barclays by CBRE Global Investors for €14,000/m2.

Other notable operations stand out including the purchase of Torre Serrano by Infinorsa and the sale of the Isla Chamartín Business Park to Tristan Capital and Zaphir Asset Management for €103 million. Also, the acquisition of the Palacio de Miraflores on the Carrera de San Jerónimo for €60 million by Remer Investment and of the Los Cubos building by Henderson Park and Therus Invest for €52 million (…).

Original story: ABC (by Adrián Delgado)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Experts: Foreign Investors will Continue to Back the Spanish RE Sector in 2018

11 January 2018 – Expansión

The experts believe that the residential sector is going to be the main protagonist of 2018, in terms of both development and investment. The banks are expected to continue their balance sheet clean-ups with more portfolio sales.

The real estate sector is expected to continue to constitute a mainstay of the Spanish economy in 2018 thanks to the growth of residential property development and the commitment from international investors to Spanish property as a safe haven for their investments, according to the experts consulted by Expansión.

For Adolfo Ramírez-Escudero, President of CBRE España, property developers will be some of the most dynamic investors in 2018. “Last year, they underwent an expansionary cycle and, through specialisation and the sophistication of their product, they will continue to increase their prominence in the sector”, he explains.

The CEO of JLL España, Enrique Losantos, forecasts that 2018 will maintain the positive rhythm of recent years and that figures will remain in line with 2017, with a total investment volume of around €13 billion. Losantos also expects that portfolio operations, which were the major stars of 2017, thanks to the sale of assets by Banco Popular and BBVA, will continue to strengthen their position in 2018 (…).

Rents

For Santiago Aguirre, President of the Board of Directors of Savills Aguirre Newman, “we are entering a year of consolidation in terms of the upward cycle that we have been immersed in since 2014. Several segments, such as offices and logistics, have reached maximum leasing levels, nevertheless, we still see potential for rents to reach the maximum levels seen in the previous cycle”.

In terms of investment in tertiary assets, Oriol Barrachina, CEO at Cushman & Wakefield, explains that there is a perception that there will be more liquidity than product, despite caution being erred in light of the local and international uncertainty. “The main difference with respect to the last two years is that one group of buyers, the Socimis, are now also going to be selling assets. For years, they have purchased lots of assets and after generating value from them, they are going to put them up for sale, a fact that will also help to bridge the gap between supply and demand”, adds Barrachina.

Sandra Daza, Director General at Gesvalt, thinks that this year those investors who entered the cycle during the opportunistic period, between 2013 and 2015, will be replaced by long-term investors, such as insurance companies and pension funds.

In terms of trends, Mikel Echavarren, CEO at Irea, considers that residential development will continue to generate news this year, both in terms of land transactions, as well as price rises and the recovery of secondary markets (…).

Humphrey White, Director General at Knight Frank, highlights that Spain is currently at the beginning of an expansion period, with forecast demand of between 120,000 and 150,000 new homes per year, even though it closed 2017 with just 47,500 new home transactions (…).

No sign of a bubble

White considers that the growth in the sector in Spain rests on “some very firm foundations in terms of the law of supply and demand, whereby moving firmly away from a possible real estate bubble”.

For Gonzalo Gallego, Partner in Financial Advisory at Deloitte, buildable land will be one of the major challenges in the property development sector.

In terms of the rental market, Ramírez-Escudero explains that in 2018, we will see “quite a lot” of activity in the market from institutional investors backing rental homes. Over the last decade, the number of rental homes has increased significantly to reach 22.5%. Nevertheless, Spain still has major potential given that the average in the EU is 33% (…).

Javier López-Torres, Partner in Real Estate at KPMG, agrees. He considers that the rental segment will continue to gain weight due to the difficulties involved in accessing credit, mobility and cultural change (…).

Asset types

By sector, Thierry Bougeard, Director General at BNP Paribas Real Estate, says that demand for office space will continue its strong performance (seen in 2017), above all in Madrid, where leasing volumes are expected to increase to around 600,000 m2.

Meanwhile, in the logistics market, e-commerce will continue to be the main motor of demand, whilst in retail, many owners are betting on improving the quality of their centres, boosting leisure areas and the quality of them, with the aim of encouraging customers to stay longer, he explains.

The experts also agree in highlighting the high level of interest expected in alternative real estate assets, such as student halls and nursing homes.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Ibercaja Sells 450-Space Parking Lot In Zaragoza To Indigo

13 October 2017 – Inmodiario

JLL, the professional services firm and investment manager specialising in the real estate sector, has advised Ibercaja on the sale of the San Ignacio de Loyola parking lot, located in the centre of Zaragoza, The purchaser has been the parking lot manager Indigo, the global mobility leader, which has a presence in 16 countries, including Spain.

The asset has a surface area of almost 20,000 m2, distributed over 500 parking spaces in total, of which 450 have been included in the transaction perimeter; the remaining 50 spaces will continue to be owned by Ibercaja.

The parking lot is prized due to its excellent location, in the heart of Zaragoza, between Calle San Ignacio de Loyola and Paseo de la Constitución, next to El Corte Inglés and close to Plaza Paraíso, an important transport hub in the city. Similarly, the area stands out because it is home to a large number of homes, as well as several major commercial and office spaces.

For Loïc Delcroix, Indigo’s Director General in Spain and Director in Europe: “This significant operation fits perfectly into our expansion and growth strategy in Spain. (…). The operation also serves to reinforce our position as one of the main mobility players in the country”.

For Ibercaja, this operation comes in response to the objective to divest non-strategic assets and, in this way, focus all of its efforts, media and resources on boosting the banking business and implementing the digital transformation, whereby fulfilling the route map established for the strategic cycle 2015-2016.

In the words of Nick Wride, Director of Alternative Assets at JLL, this operation “is another example of the great interest that exists in investing in alternative real estate assets in Spain, a market with enormous potential that will continue to grow at a rapid pace over the next few years”.

Original story: Inmodiario

Translation: Carmel Drake