Tag Archives: spain real estate

Barcelona and Madrid Office Commercial Property: Demand Up in 2012

New studies into the commercial property market across Europe point to good news for Barcelona and Madrid office property.

Lucas Fox has a number of hospitality commercial properties available at present.

The studies, by Jones Lang Lasalle, look at office commercial property and industrial rental in Barcelona and Madrid.

Barcelona Office Property

High quality office space in prime business areas is in great demand in Barcelona, helping generate a vacancy rate of 13.2%.
On average, office rents are €19 per square meter.
The total expected take up level of office space is expected to reach 250,000 square meters in 2011.

Barcelona Industrial Property

A review of industrial property in 2011 to date indicates that 88,000 square meters was taken up in Barcelona in the first quarter of the year, bringing the vacancy rate down to 17.7%.
Industrial property was leasing at €81 per square meter on average.
The lack of good quality stock in prime areas will sharpen demand, and is expected to influence rental demand growth of greater than 1% in 2012 and 2013.

Madrid Office Property

Vacancy rate in the Madrid office property market is 10.23%.
Average rents in the CBD are €26.75 per square meter and €17 per square meter in secondary areas.

Madrid Industrial Property

Industrial property had a vacancy rate of 13.2% at the end of the first quarter of 2011.
Industrial property was leasing at €66 per square meter on average.
In particular, large high quality industrial properties with floor space greater than 250,000 square metres just isn’t available in the Madrid property market at present.

Lucas Fox currently has a number of commercial properties for sale, especially in the hospitality industry. For more information on commercial property, see the Lucas Fox guide to buying commercial property in Spain.

Was the Spain real estate roadshow a success?

We recently reported on the UK roadtrip by Spain’s Housing Minister, Beatriz Corredor, and Development Minister, Jose Blanco, that aimed to encourage Spain real estate investment. Our report focused on the main messages of the Ministers and how these matched recent advice from the pages of the Wall Street Journal on choosing the right time to invest in property.

Leading up to, and during, the road trip there were complaints and protests, flaming on expat forums and discussion boards, petitions, emails, a letter writing campaign, interviews, and action groups all mobilized by angry Britons who had lost property investing in Spain real estate.

While many have successfully and happily invested in properties in Spain, there were some areas that suffered from inflated housing market prices, and other areas where corrupt planners and opportunistic lawyers set up business to make money from buyers who had not done their homework.

During the May roadshow, the message of Ministers Corredor and Blanco included a tacit acknowledgement that there were some issues with Spanish property investment and the national economy (with Corredor noting that some UK expats had lost their property, and Blanco sharing that a key motivation of the roadshow was to help sell off bank-held property to speed up the national economic motors).

The pair described the level of safeguards in place for new investors wary of repeating the previous property investment mistakes. These include:

tighter planning regulation,
a public sales register listing the legal status of properties in the sales market, and
a new police unit to quickly respond to any sign of corruption in planning and sales processes.

Development Minister Jose Blanco was also quick to remind the English of all of the great things they love about Spain:

the weather,
the accessibility,
the proximity, and
the safety.

At the time, the majority of UK media seemed to accentuate the focus on the disgruntled investors and their angry complaints during the promotional trip. This would give the causal observer the impression that, overall, the mission was unsuccessful and would perhaps need for the Corredor and Blanco team to regroup before repeating the exercise in France, Germany, Sweden and Russia.

However, now that the dust has settled a week or two more, perhaps the media angle has given Corredor and Blanco the opportunity they needed to clear up any doubts about the past and start afresh. By countering the negative focus, the Ministers have had the chance to mention the strengthened regulatory environment, and to remind Britons what they love about Spain.

This may have been what was needed to clear the air and rebuild any lost confidence. Since the roadshow there has been a surge of interest in Spain property by UK residents again: A survey announced last week that 8 out of 10 Britons confirm they are planning to buy in Spain as part of their retirement strategy. The healthy tourist figures for Spain for the first quarter 2011 are set to continue throughout the forthcoming summer, bringing more visitors with the potential to assess Spain real estate for future property purchases while visiting.

With resurgent interest amongst UK buyers eyeing Spain real estate, the Ministerial roadshow team may have played just the right cards to star afresh on a new Spain property investment push: their return to London later this year will offer a chance to assess.

Moving to Spain real estate with young children

If you have a young family, there will be moments of occasional panic when you are first preparing a move from your home country to your new Spain real estate. It is perfectly normal to have a fit of the jitters after making plans to relocate with your partner and young children.

For young families with children, imagining the school environment can be a particular cause of angst. “The most common worry that parents moving to Spain have is regarding language,” confirms Alex Vaughan, Director at Lucas Fox. “Many international parents choose to send their children to international private schools where the children are taught in Spanish and English. Cities like Barcelona have some fantastic international schools, with specialized English, American, French, German, and Swiss schools amongst others.”

Parents locating to a Barcelona property do need to consider the language issue more than other parents, as there are three languages in the mix in the Catalan province. “In Cataluñya, the state schools teach in Catalan, with Castellano and English taught as electives,” explains Alex. International schools have a range of options available that depend on your expected length of stay in Barcelona, the age of entry of your children, and your education goals for them.

International schools are established in all regions, no matter the location of your new Spain real estate. Schools are easily accessible to parents wanting their children to have a global education, while ensuring that grade results align with your home country’s qualification system.

There are also international nurseries and day-care centres, with a healthy choice available in the major centres. While it is natural to worry about your children’s settlement into a new education system in a different country, seeing the benefits of raising children in Spain will soon lighten your load.

“For me, there are two main benefits of living in Spain with young children. The first is that Spanish culture really values children. This means that you can take your kids to decent restaurants without the other diners frowning at them, and that your neighbours will keep an eye on your children when they are playing outside. The other main benefit is the climate – it means that your children can play outside for most of the year and will be swimming like fishes by the time they are 4,” Alex adds. Moving to your Spain real estate and seeing the reactions of your children as they settle in – compared to any worries of their education transfer – will be one of the joy’s remembered and one of the fear’s forgotten.

15 Reasons To Invest in Spain Real Estate: A Summary of the UK Property Investment Roadshow

Encouraging a fresh perspective on Spain real estate was the goal of last week’s visit to the UK by Spanish Housing Minister, Beatriz Corredor, and Minister of Development, Jose Blanco. The trip, labelled a “property investment roadshow”, was the first in what will be a series of promotional visits by the Ministerial team. With a quarter (23.4%) of all property purchased by foreign investors in 2010 coming from the UK, Spain prioritized Great Britain for its initial roadshow leg. This will be followed by forthcoming tours planned for France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, and Russia.

The trip did receive some negative feedback from those who had previously been burnt by investment in Spanish property. Notably, some of those who had lost money in 2007 and 2008 in illegal property deals in coastal areas were quick to flame forums and news reports with details of their experiences. Other forum correspondents balanced the view with reports of their own successful property investments and at times relocation to Spain. The common elements for those who had lost money were using lawyers and real estate services with limited English/Spanish translation skills and where the full details of the housing deals had not been properly documented. Using a comprehensive real estate service such as that offered by Lucas Fox – with everything from support during your first visit to Spain, connection with relocation services, and access to bilingual lawyers and accountants – is a protection against these risks. Housing Minister Beatriz Corredor noted that housing problems represented only 1% of Spain real estate trading amongst Britons, but all the same was devastating for those impacted.

The trip occurred in a week of busy discussion about the current potential of property investment. From comments by the Ministers and from online sources, Lucas Fox has identified 15 reasons why now is a good time to consider property investment in Spain real estate.

Comments from Housing Minister Beatriz Corredor start our list with 3 enhancements she noted will safeguard those looking for real estate in Spain:

1. Regulations now ensure that new developers provide all paperwork showing building consent and zoning approvals to potential buyers.

2. A sales register with legal status of all properties is now available online, with an English version to be launched later this year.

3. A new police team and special prosecutor have been established to prevent planning corruption.

Minister of Development Jose Blanco added another 6 reasons to consider property investment:

4. Spain is a safe country with low levels of crime and danger.

5. Its proximity to the UK make it a great alternative base with easy access.

6. Spain’s weather and stable climate make it a fabulous holiday retreat if your property investment is also to double up as a holiday home.

7. Spain’s quality of life is high, with Spanish cities like Barcelona and Madrid ranking high in the world’s most liveable cities and with coastal areas envied by countries around the world.

8. Spain offers a full range of public services that are accessible to all European residents.

9. Spain’s infrastructure is world-class, including an extensive fast train system across the country, world leadership in use of renewable energy sources, and commercially efficient port and air terminals.

In a week in which Ministers Corredor and Blanco were talking up reasons to invest in real estate in Spain, Wall Street columnist Brett Arends wrote more generally about why now is a great time to look at property investment:

10. “Prices are cheap.” This is definitely true of Spain, where investors can take advantage of bargain prices. Recent years have dropped free-market housing prices by an average of 15.4% (20% in real terms) according to the Spanish government.

11. “Banks will have to sell.” Arends’ point is a key motivation for the roadshow. Bank ownership of property slows the national economy and re-releasing properties into the market is needed to reduce the weight of housing overstock on the nation’s economic engines. This means it’s a buyers market as banks are keen to offload their housing portfolios.

12. There is a good rental yield potential: In some areas, purchasing real estate in Spain can start earning income as rental property. Holiday rental demand has increased by 20% this year according to some holiday rental specialists, mirroring increased Spanish tourism levels this first quarter of 2011.

13. While Arends is focused on the US property market when he says that there are cheap mortgages available, the same can be said for Spain, with banks jostling to create new loan packages for savvy investors.

14. In his Wall Street Journal column this week, Arends has reminded his readers that real estate is a good long-term protection against inflation, noting that traditionally real estate returns on average 1 or 2% above inflation.

15. And finally, Arends points out that other investment options like bonds are not necessarily offering a good alternative return.

All up, these arguments point to some strong reasons to reconsider property investment in Spain real estate now. With the roadshow sure to drum up interest as it continues its European leg – especially in Germany and Russia where there is already a buzz of excitement for real estate in Spain – wise investors would do well to start looking at properties now. To get started, contact a Lucas Fox representative on +(34) 933 562 989 to discuss your goals for property investment in Spain real estate.