Tag: podemos

Carmena Will Not Sever Ties With Banks That Evict Families

27 May 2015 – El Confidencial Digital

The candidate for mayor of Madrid distances herself from Podemos and says that she will not apply the measure that Teresa Rodríguez imposed on Susana Díaz.

The greatest triumph of Podemos in the municipal elections held on 24 May has been the opportunity to become the mayor of the largest city in Spain. However, Manuela Carmena will govern Madrid without implementing one of the most controversial measures proposed by the party led by Pablo Iglesias.

It was after the elections in Andalucía when Podemos launched the headline-grabbing idea: to sever ties with the banks that force the eviction (of families) from homes with mortgages that the owners cannot pay.

The leader and regional candidate, Teresa Rodríguez, proposed this measure during talks with Susana Díaz to negotiate a possible agreement to allow the inauguration of the socialist as President of the Regional Government. Firstly, she demanded that the Andalucían Government should not work with banks that carry out evictions and next, she reduced the condition to require that the Government should not hold accounts with financial institutions that evict those unable to pay their mortgages.

After proposing this measure, several municipal candidates supported by Podemos for the May 24 elections included in their electoral program, or at least declared in public, their commitment to severing ties with banks involved in evictions.

Negotiations with the banks and non-retaliation

However, Confidencial Digital has learned that this measure will not be applied by the candidate who will govern Madrid’s town hall, given that Ahora Madrid did not include this idea in its election manifesto.

Sources close to the candidacy of Manuela Carmena confirm that this measure is not included in her election manifesto and therefore, she does not plan to apply it if she ends up ruling the municipal government of Spain’s capital.

“Ahora Madrid is committed to stopping evictions”, says the electoral manifesto of the municipal brand of Podemos for these elections. Below, it details a series of proposals that the town hall will undertake to avoid evicting people from primary residences and, in the event that they do take place, to offer an alternatives for evicted families.

Nevertheless, at no time does it mention “non-retaliation” against the banks that carry out evictions. Carmena’s manifesto includes only, amongst other measures, incentives for use to be made of  empty homes held by the financial institutions or the “bad bank” (Sareb), through agreements whereby the homes are transferred to the public stock of housing for use in the rental scheme.

Other Podemos candidates do support the measure

It is noteworthy that the candidacy of Ahora Madrid is distancing itself from one of the measures that, after being proposed by Teresa Rodríguez in Andalucía, was supported by many of the candidates that stood in the municipal elections, with the support of Podemos.

That is the case in Sevilla, where Participa Sevilla publicly committed that, if it was elected to the Town Hall, the Sevilla government would not work with banks that evict (people). Its candidate for mayor, Susana Serrano, even asserted that “it is inconsistent that the money from evicted families is held in the same banks that evicts them”.

Participa Sevilla will be key to enabling the socialist Juan Espadas to take the capital of Andalucía from the Popular candidate Juan Igancio Zoido. But the proposals made by the candidates supported by Podemos are more noteworthy; furthermore, they have won the elections and, presumably, will govern the town halls.

In La Coruña, Marea Atlántica – which won four more votes than the second ranked party, the PP – intends to apply the “cancelation of balances with banking institutions that carry out evictions”. Meanwhile, Barcelona En Comú, which has won with Ada Colau as the leader, is going to study measures to put pressure on the banks that do not negotiate with the town hall to put a stop to the evictions: including, “putting a stop to trading with the banking entities in question” and imposing sanctions on those banks.

Original story: El Confidencial Digital

Translation: Carmel Drake

Foreign Investment ‘Pulls Up’ House Prices In 8 CCAA

15 April 2015 – El Economista

The housing phoenix is rising from the ashes, but, as yet, it is not soaring with equal force across the whole country. After 2014, which was year zero for the sector after seven years of hard-hitting decreases, the foundations are being laid in 2015 for a new cycle. Whilst in the large cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, (the recovery) has taken off, fuelled by foreign investment, tit is still weak and flighty in areas with lower demand; nevertheless it is still a recovery.

The revival of the mortgage market, accompanied by an environment of low interest rates, a good overall economic climate and the outlook for growth both in terms of consumption and production, has generated the ideal breeding ground for the real estate sector to return to our economy, although in terms of size it is still well below its pre-crisis levels.

According to data from the National Construction Conference (Conferencia Nacional de la Construcción or CNC), in 2007, construction accounted for around 22% of GDP. Today, it represents approximately 5%. Leaving the excesses of the real estate boom aside, the prudent return of construction activity is important to enable proportional feedback between the Spanish economy and housing.

Where is real estate taking off?

After the hangover of the crisis, the housing sector is starting to record its first price increases. According to Sociedad de Tasación (ST), the average price of new and used homes increased by 3.3% during the first quarter of 2015 to record nine consecutive months of increases. With the latest rise, the (average) price per square metre amounts to €1,316, according to the Trends in the Real Estate Sector report. Nevertheless, the evolution is very uneven across Spain.

The value of properties in eight autonomous communities has increased. Navarra, led the ranking with an increase of 6.7%, followed by the Balearic Islands (6.5%), Valencia (5.7%), the Canary Islands (5.4%), Madrid (3.8%), La Rioja (3%), Andalucía (2.8%) and Extremadura (0.3%).

Fluctuations are still expected

Nevertheless, as Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, CEO of ST, notes, this data should be interpreted with caution, given that it comes in the context of a decrease of around 45% in the price of homes; as such the downward trend has less distance to travel. Moreover, if we focus only on the price of new homes, then the decrease has not bottomed out yet.

All of this, he explains, draws a picture that is characterised by “stabilisation, but with a serrated edge”. In recent months, positive and negative data has been recorded and the distribution of the recovery is uneven. Therefore, although the majority of the experts agree that house prices have bottomed out, it is too early to talk about a full recovery. For that, the CEO of ST says, the figures for the number of transaction and mortgages granted will need to return to the levels last seen in 2001 and 2002. And he adds that those two variables are the ones that are really going to shape the evolution of the real estate sector. “A market the size of Spain should be granting around 750,000 mortgages and closing 800,000 house sales per year”, he says.

Who is buying?

Despite the opening up of the credit market and the improvement in conditions, the level of financing continues to be low and does not stop flowing between families; this brings us back to a position of prudence, says Fernández-Aceytuno. “The stored-up demand will have to be released at some point”, but decisions to buy are still being postponed. Price decreases and greater employment stability may provide a boost for all of those latent buyers.

So, who is behind the increase in the number of house sales? José Luis Ruiz Bartolomé, expert in the real estate sector and author of the book ‘Return, property, return’ (‘Vuelve, ladrillo, vuelve’) explains. After the necessary price decreases, there has been a strong inflow of foreign investment, both by funds as well as individuals, especially in the coastal regions. Moreover, as this expert indicates, more homes are being sold, but “location is becoming very important”.

The outlook, therefore, is that the evolution (of prices) will be very different in some areas than in others. This is confirmed by the report about the residential market in Spain issued by Maxxima REA, which states that 2014 was the turning point for real estate investment in Spain. According to the study by that real estate consultancy firm, transactions to date have been concentrated in Madrid and Barcelona, and have focused on prime assets, whose supply is scarce. As a result, the prices of higher quality assets in better locations have increased.

More properties are being bought and sold

What is undeniable is that the evolution of prices is supporting the revival of house sales. According to the latest statistics from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), house sales increased by 15.5% in February with respect to the same month last year, to reach a total of 29,714, whereby recording six consecutive months of increases.

Another positive statistic, but again, one that needs to put in perspective, since it is still a comparison against minimum real estate activity. In terms of the geographical distribution of house sales, the map is uneven. Whilst sales are soaring in Aragón (49.2%), followed by Madrid (28.4%), Barcelona (23.2%) and the Balearic Islands (21.7%), other regions are suffering from a decrease in the number of house sales, including (-22.7%) and the Canary Islands (-5.5%).

The return of the cranes

(…) Refer to article dated 30 March 2015 for these details.

The risks

In this overall market context, the obvious question is “Is this recovery stable”? All of the experts agree that it is. The change in the cycle is here to stay, but they also call for caution because money is “very easily frightened”, according to Ruiz Bartolomé, who warns against two risks: political instability, with the rise of parties such as Podemos, “which scare off overseas investors” and the danger that Spain becomes complacent and puts the brakes on its structural reforms.

At the Sociedad de Tasación, they are more optimistic in this sense and they believe that the risks of destabilisation are remote. “Not even the electoral calendars will have a direct impact on the market”, explains its CEO. However, any sharp rises in interest rates would impact the recovery, however such a move is highly unlikely, especially given the latest monetary policy measures undertaken by the European Central Bank.

Original story: El Economista (by Silvia Zancajo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

ST: Housing Becomes Investor Safe Haven Once More…

20 January 2015 – Cinco Días

…in the face of stock exchange volatility.

Experts forecast more sales in the future but do not expect significant price rises.

Refurbishments, rental and tourism are the three key niche areas for housing.

The housing market is preparing to emerge completely renewed from its worst crisis in recent history. Or at least that is the view of the latest study conducted by one of the main real estate valuation companies, Sociedad de Tasación. All of the parameters that drive the market are in better shape today than they were a year ago and that, coupled with the challenges facing this activity, means that forecasts are much more optimistic.

The CEO of Sociedad de Tasación, Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, said today that property prices are showing a clear trend towards “stabilisation”. Particularly, in used homes, where the growth in demand has caused smaller price decreases and even the first annual price increases. “In resale homes, we are seeing very clearly that prices have bottomed out, whereas for new homes, if all of the other variables fall in line with our expectations, then prices should reach their minimum levels at some point this year”, said the CEO of the real estate valuation company.

Refurbishment and rental

Speaking of variables, Fernández-Aceytuno, cited three key parameters: employment, purchasing power and finance. Continued improvement in the labour market will be crucial for ensuring that demand for housing continues to increase, now that the banks deem determined to re-establish the flow of credit. “In fact, all indicators show that, as at the end of previous crises, demand is building, as potential buyers wait for prices to come down to the desired level or to the level that they consider they can afford. As soon as that happens, sales will increase” said the CEO of Sociedad de Tasación.

This indicates that over the short to medium term, the market will see more sales without necessarily having to raise prices. And this does not even take account of the fact that some of the circumstances that occurred in the early 2000s, when the last boom in property prices began, are now repeating themselves.

And it is now, like then, that experts believe that housing is regaining its traditional appeal as a safe haven in the face of low returns on deposits and the high volatility of the stock market. With the euro, oil and other commodity prices all in decline, it is inevitable that investments in property and gold, amongst others, become more attractive, explain analysts. In addition, uncertainty exists overseas.

“We see more clouds on the horizon outside of Spain that within it. We are concerned by the situations in Russia and Greece, by terrorism, by how the deflationary situation in Europe will develop in the face of economic and price growth in the US. In Spain, the evolution of the economic situation is critical”, noted Fernández-Aceytuno.

Asked whether international investors seem concerned about the rise in political groups such as Podemos, the CEO of Sociedad de Tasación was keen to minimise the effect that such factors have on the decision-making of companies investing in Spain. “As you would expect, they ask about Podemos, Cataluña and corruption, but we are not aware of any project that has been halted for any of those reasons”, he said.

In terms of future challenges, refurbishment, rental and tourism are the three areas in which experts at the real estate valuation company expect to see the highest growth. In refurbishment, because 90% of existing homes do not meet the requirements of the 2006 technical code. In rental, because buy-to-let is one of the fastest growing trends in the market given its high yields (depending on the area, yields can exceed 6%). And finally, tourism because statistics show that up to 12 million travellers will stay in houses instead of hotels every year, “tourism represents a huge niche in which hotels can compete by buying homes, refurbishing them and offering them up for rent”.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Raquel Díaz Guijarro)

 Translation: Carmel Drake

Podemos Targets Goldman in Spain, EU Insurgents Attack

20 January 2015 – Bloomberg

The anti-austerity party Podemos, leading Spanish polls less than a year before the next election, is targeting Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)’s purchase of social housing in Madrid, saying it’s a predatory type of investment that should be stamped out.

Podemos is highlighting transactions such as Goldman’s 201 million-euro ($234 million) acquisition of rent-protected apartments as it works out policies to reduce inequality in Spain and draw millions of unemployed workers back into the labor force after a seven-year slump.

“They know that at a certain point the protected rents will expire, and when that happens, they will throw the tenants out,” Juan Carlos Monedero, a member of Podemos’s executive committee, said in an interview. “They are enriching people who already have more money than they know what to do with, and in turn they are forcing people to live on the streets.”

Governments across the European periphery are braced for an assault by anti-establishment parties channeling voters’ anger at the budget cuts their official creditors demanded in return for financial support. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is first up, trailing the main opposition party Syriza ahead of this weekend’s general election. His Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy has to call a vote around the end of the year.

Naked Calendars

Podemos has led in most opinion polls since November. The party had the backing of 28.2 percent of voters compared with 19.2 percent for Rajoy’s People’s Party, in a Metroscopia poll of 1,000 people conducted Jan. 7 and 8 for El Pais newspaper. A separate poll for the ABC newspaper published Jan. 18 gave Rajoy 29.3 percent and Podemos 21.1 percent.

Goldman Sachs and its junior partner Azora purchased 3,000 apartments that the Madrid regional government had set aside for low income families in August 2013. Blackstone Group LP (BX), the world’s largest alternative-asset manager, and its partner Magic Real Estate bought a similar portfolio from the city of Madrid in July 2013 for 128.5 million euros.

A group of tenants from the blocks bought by Blackstone created an association to fight the terms of the sale, which saw them lose the chance to buy their homes after ten years, according to Arantxa Mejias, the head of the group. To help finance its activities the association produced a calendar featuring nude pictures of the families living in the buildings.

Goldman’s London-based spokeswoman Fiona Laffan declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg. Andrew Dowler, a spokesman for Blackstone in London, also declined to comment.

Podemos’s Plans

In economic terms, Goldman and Blackstone’s investments proved prescient. Spain emerged from recession in the third quarter of 2013 and the property market began to pick up a year later. Yet the investors may still not be able to escape the fallout from the financial crisis.

With unemployment at 24 percent, more than double the European Union average, Podemos is luring voters by promising to re-engineer the Spanish economy to give opportunities to those who’ve been marginalized by the crisis. Leader Pablo Iglesias plans to increase public investment and reject the demands for austerity which forced officials to sell off assets such as public housing.

Iglesias will visit Greece this week to support his ally, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, in the final days of his general election campaign. Iglesias is aiming to use a Syriza victory in Greece as a stepping stone to help him claim power in Spain.

Should he achieve that, a Podemos government would promote a debate about the ethics of Goldman’s real estate investment.

“I don’t care whether that’s legal,” Monedero said. “We still have to discuss it.”

Original story: Bloomberg (by Esteban Duarte)

Edited by: Carmel Drake