KPMG Surveys 148 Directors In The RE Sector

19 May 2017 – Expansión

Directors and entrepreneurs in the real estate sector have faith in the progress of their industry. Moreover, more than half of them believe that the recovery is not very consolidated yet or is still pending consolidation, according to the conclusions of the Outlook for Spain 2017 report, prepared by KPMG in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), on the basis of the opinions of 148 directors in the sector.

According to the report, 55% of those surveyed think that the recovery is not very consolidated yet or is still pending consolidation and 63% believe that prices will continue their upward trend.

In terms of the perception of the current situation in the sector, 28% consider it to be good or excellent, compared with 35% who consider it to be ok. The prospects for the next 12 months are more optimistic, given that 45% expect the situation in the sector to improve.

Similarly, 91% of directors confirm that during the course of this year, they are going to continue to maintain their levels of investment and may even increase them, and 27% expect to see an increase in their turnover during 2017.

Risks

Regarding the future challenges facing the sector, more than half of the directors surveyed believe that a weakness in demand is the main threat to their businesses.

The respondents also agree that investment in the sector has already reached a high level of maturity. In this way, 40% of those surveyed believe that there is a risk of a new real estate bubble forming over the next few years and one in five regarded that risk as “high”.

Over the next few months, 32% of the directors think that they will focus on international expansion and 25% consider the digital transformation as a strategic priority.

For Javier López Torres, Partner for Real Estate at KPMG in Spain, the current situation in the sector can be explained by differentiating between three scenarios or speeds: those where asset types and location are combined with liquid demand, in such a way that in “general terms”, the reactivation is already being consolidated; those where players are starting to invest and build certain asset types in specific locations; and finally, those where the absorption of specific products will be very slow, given that it does not respond to a real current demand.

Original story: Expansión (by R.A.)

Translation: Carmel Drake