The third edition of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), which will be held from October 3 to 6 at DFactory Barcelona, will bring together the most prominent real estate players in the BNEW Real Estate vertical panel, with the aim of debating and sharing experiences and knowledge about the present and future of a fundamental sector for the economic and social development of our country.
This event, promoted once again by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), already has the sponsorship and participation of representatives of companies and organizations as prestigious and outstanding as Servihabitat, Incasòl, Deloitte, Savills, JLL, CBRE , Colonial or Accenture, among others.
Its appearance has meant, as Blanca Sorigué, general director of CZFB, affirms, "a true disruption, becoming a true international benchmark that undoubtedly brings freshness to the sector".
Throughout the four days that BNEW Real Estate lasts, a wide variety of topics of undoubted interest will be addressed, which will serve to identify the main trends and transformations that the real estate world is experiencing.
From a macroeconomic perspective, the evolution of the financial markets will be analyzed. It will also be discussed how the European Next Generation Funds can contribute to the implementation of real solutions in this area. Furthermore, on Wednesday, October 5, ESADE-ULI will organize a session entitled “Is the real estate sector an opportunity in times of uncertainty?”, which will serve to reflect on how housing can serve to boost our economy.
In the section dedicated to investment, an attempt will be made to identify different trends, sectors and new opportunities, focusing on issues such as build to rent or specific proposals designed for the elderly (Senior Housing and Healthcare).
Likewise, on Monday, October 3, public-private collaboration in the field of housing in Spain and Catalonia will be valued, and the importance of 22@ as a focus for attracting talent and investment will be highlighted. On the following day, social housing and affordable rental housing, as well as urban management, will be delved into. Other topics of interest related to the residential field that will be addressed during these days are alternative operating models (such as Home as a Service), urban rehabilitation and regeneration to build a sustainable future, or the new housing law and the evolution of the residential market.
The commercial aspects and the challenges that await the sector will also be analyzed in talks dedicated to Retail
This panel will attach special importance to issues related to sustainability and Smart Cities, emphasizing issues such as Innovation Districts, sustainable, healthy and emotional architecture, or urban digital transformations to build truly people-centered smart cities. Some specific keys will also be provided to make this change possible, such as green financing, energy ratings or sustainable certifications.
On Thursday, October 6, it will be especially focused on everything that has to do with Proptech, a term used to talk about how to apply new technologies to the real estate sector. There, topics such as the revolution of the metaverse, tokenization and the world of Crypto, the so-called Fintech, will be discussed, which will allow the optimization of financial systems through technological procedures, as well as iBuying and real estate e-commerce.
BNEW Real Estate will feature top-level speakers and lecturers, such as the well-known economist Gonzalo Bernardos, the president of the Association of Construction Promoters of Spain (APCE), Xavier Vilajoana, the president of the National Association of Real Estate Agents of Spain, Vicenç Hernández , or the president of the General Council of the Official Associations of Real Estate Agents of Spain, the Coapi of Barcelona and the Association of Real Estate Agents of Catalonia, Gerard Duelo.
Some of the leading voices in the sector will also be present, such as Juan Carlos Álvarez, director general of Servihabitat's Wealth Management Business, Juan Manuel Bello, founder and CEO of Vidoqui, Ismael Clemente, CEO of Merlin Properties, Carmina Ganyet, corporate managing director of Inmobiliaria Colonial, Anna Gener, Barcelona CEO of Savills, Manuel Járrega, president of the Catalan Facility Management Association, Anna Puigdevall, general director of API Col·legi and Associació d'Agents Inmobiliaris de Catalunya, and Fredi Turull, architect by Turull-Sorensen Architects.
This edition of the BNEW Real Estate will also be a magnificent opportunity for the CZFB to present a new approach to the Barcelona Meeting Point (BMP), which will finally be held again in 2023, with the aim of responding to the situation that the sector is experiencing after the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the vertiginous development of the 4.0 economy and the new ways of living.
As Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State at CZFB, has rightly pointed out, BNEW Real Estate has already become a reference event that confirms that "for us, real estate is a key sector that we have always opted for". For this reason, they are already working in depth on "building a new BMP that allows us to respond to the challenges posed by the post-pandemic economy".
Sorigué expresses himself in the same sense, who is convinced that the return of the BMP will allow "breaking molds with a transformation focused on new ways of living and lifestyles based on sustainable and renewable criteria."
Both the BNEW Real Estate and the BMP are the clear demonstration of the CZFB's uninterrupted support, for 26 years, to a sector that will surely continue to be essential to ensure the economic vitality and quality of life of our society.
