Tag: public

Testa to Invest Another €500M Buying Up New Homes for Rent

20 April 2018 – Eje Prime

Testa is continuing to grow ahead of its stock market debut. The company is going to invest €500 million in its growth through the purchase of new homes to rent. These new assets will be added to the 10,700 homes that the Socimi already owns, a portfolio worth €2.3 billion that makes it the largest rental home company in the country.

This new investment forms part of the company’s preparations to make its stock market debut, according to Expansión. The leap onto the public market is going to be carried out through a double operation: a public offer for sale (OPV) and a public offer for subscription (OPS) of new shares, both aimed exclusively at institutional investors.

Testa is currently owned by: Santander and BBVA, which hold stakes of 37% and 26%, respectively; Acciona, which acquired 20% of its share capital in exchange for contributing a portfolio of homes; and Merlin, which holds the remaining 17%.

The Socimi is focusing its expansion on the purchase of entire blocks of apartments in the metropolitan areas of Spain’s main cities, including Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, San Sebastián as well as Madrid, which already accounts for 65% of its current portfolio of homes.

Original story: Eje Prime 

Translation: Carmel Drake

Colau Launches A Plan To Become The Largest Housing Developer In Barcelona

15 February 2016 – El Confidencial

The plan of Barcelona Mayoress of “Barcelona en Comú” is very ambitious: to promote a large park of affordable rental flats during his tenure, a public investment of around 500 million.

Ada Colau wants to change the game rules.  And housing development will be field chosen to do it, consistent with her past as an activist of the Platform of People Affected by Mortgage  And housing development is the field chosen to do it, consistent with her past as an activist of the People Affected by Mortages Platform (PAH). The plan is very ambitious: building 2,365 homes during his tenure, a public investment of around EUR 500 million and which would be taken on by Barcelona Municipal Housing Agency, a City Council´s body. With the project start, Colau will become the biggest Barcelona promoter.

The plan, to which “El Confidencial” has had access El Confidencial, is being currently presented by the new Manager of the Housing Agency, Javier Burón, in multiple rounds with developers, entrepreneurs and different social agents. Barcelona City Council, one of the few in Spain with a surplus, has sufficient funds to do it But as the project points out, funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) is planned to be used to create a public park of rental housing in Barcelona similar to that of any European city. The EU rental home average is around 15% in an medium sized city. In Barcelona, this percentage is only around 1.5%.

Given that in 2015 all private developers built 3,000 homes in the Catalan capital, a drive this size would make the City Council become teh first Real Estate engine in the city.

Out of the 2,365 homes Ada Colau wants to promotr, almost 800 homes are already being built, by the Agency, most of them (a total of 105)  in Glòries district. Of the remainder, some 518 are in the process of getting licensed, half of them in the district of Sant Andreu.

And the rest is Colau´s flagship project: 10 real estate developments in the same number of sites, of which the City Council´s Agency will take care.
This part totals 1,145 homes spread over ten areas, defined in Buron´s  draft as “public and affordable land in the metropolitan area of Barcelona”.

Free Trade Zone commitment

Colau´s bet for the free zone is clear. Of the new projects, two promotions add 534 homes for the new Marina District in that part of town to be started.

But the new housing is only part of the bet, although the most important from the point of view of the City Council economic effort. Colau also plans taking measures such as a “future housing mapping and mobilization (empty homes) to guide them towards an affordable rent”, “bargaining, purchasing and refusal and preemptive rights with financial institutions” and apply a “procedure of penalties and tax measures against underuse “, e.g. penalizing empty flats, as stated in the project named ‘The local public action in Barcelona housing’.

As reflected in a study conducted in April 2015, in Barcelona there are 31,200 empty homes, of which about 2,592 are owned by financial institutions, appearing in the registry created by the “Generalitat”, as evidenced on Colau´s draft. The Mayoress wants to reach agreements with banks to transfer these properties in order to be also used in social rent.

Original story: Expansion (by Marcos Lamelas)

Translation: Aura Ree

Social Security Auctions a Building in Madrid Chamberi District For €7.6 Mn

19/12/2014 – El Pais

The Social Security Fund has awarded a six-storey building (plus attic area) located at 41 Breton de los Herreros street to a co-operative managed by Domo Gestora. The property stands in Chamberi, one of the northern residential neighborhoods of Madrid found within boundaries of the central districts.

Starting at an asking price of 5.8 million, the deal closed at 7.565 million euros.

Once rehabilitated, the conveyance will feature 29 apartments of one to three bedrooms with built areas ranging from 66 to 135 square meters. Prices will start from 206.000 euros plus VAT. The block will be situated inside a gated development with gardens. On the ground floor, there is going to be a 120 square meter retail space.

Other co-ops of Domo have recently acquired several upmarket residential plots: one on the Raimundo Fernandez Villaverde street close to the Paseo de la Castellana avenue and another in the district of Retiro.

 

Original story: El País

Translation: AURA REE

2015 Budget on Public Housing Cut by 26%

2/10/2014 – El Confidencial

The 2015 budgetary appropriation for housing has been established at €587.1 million, by 26% less than a year before. Furthermore, 94.7% of the amount corresponds to development, administration and access and refurbishment assistance programmes.

For the basic emancipacion allowance for young people, lifted in January 2012 but still paid-out to the young who were admitted right to it, the Government intended €14 million – only half of what it had granted for the year 2014.

On basis of covenants, Spanish regions and local administrations are going to receive €17.21 million in 2015.

These measures are completed with tax deductions, more favorable for landlords and tenants, and foreseeing tax relieves for construction of homes destined for rent.

In fact, the Government puts an enormous pressure on the rental by granting assistance for the aforementioned construction, development and projects on mobilizing empty homes, as well as co-financing public housing for rent.

The 2015 Budget Plan also assumes facing specific problems by giving subventions for neighborhood remodelation pledged by local administrations.

Moreover, other lines that have been included in the Scheme range from supporting research and development in architecture and housing to architectural actions at heritage refurbishment and maintenance works.

When it comes to urban planning and land, in 2015 new projects and activities related to recent approval of the Urban Rehabilitation, Regeneration and Renovation Law and the Rental Market Flexibilization and Development Measures Law will be supported technically and by means of aids.

 

Original article: El Confidencial (after Efe)

Translation: AURA REE