Spain’s mortgage system, which is one of the cheapest and with the best financing conditions in Europe, has allowed more than 80% of families to own their own home. So a priority should be put on maintaining the system’s characteristics, in terms of depth and stability.
Julio Rodríguez | The economic recovery continues to boost a market which has seen prices rise 10.8% in the last three years. But this dynamism contrasts with the problems for accessing the housing market which young aspiring home owners are experiencing. A more energetic government policy is required to establish a pool of homes for rent and strengthen the creation of social housing.
Spain’s National Statistics Institute said yesterday the number of purchase-sale transactions in the property market grew 17.3% in November to 33,806 from a year ago (and compared with a rise of 6.5% in October). That makes ten consecutive months of year-on-year rises. The data confirms the property market is recovering its role as a key economic driver.
Most analysts believe the recovery in the stock prices of Spain’s four big Socimis will continue over the coming months. Between 70% and 80% of all brokerage houses have a buy recommendation. The fact these property investment vehicles have quite high returns and there is very little competition are amongst the positive factors.
“With the recovery embedded we see greater scope for selective risk, taking on asset management in core locations while also considering opportunities in well connected edge of CBD overflow locations,” Deutsche AM Spanish Real Estate Strategic Outlook notes.
The lack of investment alternatives, coupled with the fact that prices and returns are good, are two strong enough reasons for people to take their money out of bank deposits and fixed income securities and buy property.
F.Barciela /F. G. Ljubetic | If the banks are still the protagonists in terms of granting mortgages to private individuals, another thing is new developments where their role is decreasing. Burned by what happened in the past, the banks are looking very closely, and selectively, at each new development proposal. This has meant that in the last few years alternative financing formulas have emerged which property developers are using to push ahead with their projects.
Housing sales in Spain increased by 19.4% year-on-year in June to 36,856 units, the largest figure since January 2013.
Spain’s banks currently have on their books something close to 213 billion euros in property risks (assets and loans). Is that a lot or not? Judging by the recent reports from the Bank of Spain or Moody’s, the total is rather worrying: and we are not talking about small change but about the fact that our lenders still have an amount of property on their balance sheets equivalent to 20% of GDP.
After Standard Life announced on Monday that it had suspended withdrawals from its UK Real Estate Fund (2.9 billion GBP in assets), yesterday the whole sector (property funds), with assets under management of approximately 9 billion GBP, decided to follow suit. The two funds which stand out by size are: M&G Property Portfolio (4.4 billion GBP, the biggest) and Aviva (1.8 billion GBP).