The impact of interest rate hikes in the real estate sector was the focus of debate yesterday at The Distric, which was held at the Fira de Barcelona with the participation of the directors of the largest European real estate companies. "The fundamentals of the business (occupancy and rents) are going very well, but the facilities that real estate agencies have to continue financing their operations will mark the future," summed up Francesco Zanella, vice president of Starwood Capital. David Martínez, CEO of Aedas Homes, stressed that Spain needs to “attract and maintain international capital. Sometimes we don't realize it, but we are a poor country. There is no private capital here capable of financing the housing construction that the country needs. Not even to contribute the 2,000 or 3,000 million funds that the three large listed promoters have”.
Pere Viñolas, president of the European real estate association EPRA and CEO of the Colonial socimi, assured that “the future of the sector and the economy in the coming years will depend on how inflation goes. If it is reduced, in 2024 rates will drop and the market will normalize. If everything becomes entrenched it will be more difficult”. Ismael Clemente, CEO of Merlin Properties, considered that due to the instability of the markets and financing conditions, “we expect three tough years, in which the companies will have to live on the resources we generate. But when rates normalize, the sector will shine again.”
Housing was one of the star topics of debate, in part due to the noisy presence of the protesters called by entities such as the PAH and the Sindicat de Llogaters, who came to enter the hall, until they were evicted by the Mossos d'Esquadra . The mayor herself, Ada Colau, assured in a letter to the convening entities that she shares her “concern” that the “vulture funds are in Barcelona”. It so happens that the mayor is the president of the council of the Fira, where the congress is held and that Barcelona Catalonia, an organization in which the Generalitat and the City Council participate, has a stand in the room to attract investors. No institutional representative attended the event.
Xavier Vilajoana, president of the association of Catalan promoters APCE, highlighted the active role that administrations must have to cover housing needs. “The challenge is to create the soil we need. Little is generated, but urban planning is also archaic and inflexible, and in many municipalities it prevents satisfying the needs of clients: for example, when the demands for building or parking make it impossible to build coliving buildings”.
