Real estate experts see sustainability as an opportunity for the development of the sector

MADRID, 4 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Real estate experts agreed this Monday, at the Real Estate Seminar organized by Europa Press, that sustainability is an opportunity for the development of the sector, both in the rehabilitation of existing buildings, boosted by the arrival of European funds, and in the construction of new housing parks.

At the table "Sustainability of the housing sector", the Director of Institutions and Major Accounts of the Appraisal Society, Consuelo Villanueva, pointed out that the introduction of sustainability in housing requires "taking a look in the middle and in the long deadline" to meet the 2030 Agenda and the challenges set by the Government in the Spain 2050 Plan.

The boost to sustainability is accompanied by a "regulatory tsunami", both Spanish and European, which supposes "a very great demand on the real estate fabric", as the president of Wires, Carmen Panadero, explained during the event.

However, Panadero considers that the real estate sector must take advantage of this regulatory increase to demonstrate to the home buyer that sustainability is profitable. "Now the property is more liquid, if you are more liquid, you are worth more. It would be very interesting to sell it as an opportunity cost", he specified.

Like the president of Wires, the Real Estate director of Anticipa Real Estate, Paco Campos, has stressed that "sustainability is profitable in the long term" and has invited us to accompany this path with the digitization and modernization of the sector and the real estate park.

From Élix, its executive director, Teresa Marzo, has pointed out that the real estate sector has "a clear environmental responsibility", since the current building stock in Spain "emits 40% of emissions", for which "sustainable development It leads us to a profound change in all processes".

To achieve this sustainability, all have alluded to the need for public-private collaboration, to continue advancing on this matter once the disbursement of European funds is complete. In this sense, the Director of Strategy and Sustainability of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), Juan Carlos del Rieu, has stated that the role of banking "is very important" to "define a world that is more friendly to the environment" .

Del Rieu pointed out that the banking sector is already taking advantage of the opportunities presented by sustainability, as shown by the issuance of green bonds, and recalled that the real estate sector needs private capital to develop.

"In Spain we have responded through banking, it is true that with difficulties for young people, but we have facilitated access to home ownership for 85% of the population", commented the director of Strategy and Sustainability of the AEB.

The table on "Sustainability of the housing sector" has also addressed the need to rehabilitate housing, given the increase in demand and the lag in energy efficiency of a large part of the Spanish housing stock.

The executive director of Élix has explained that the pace of construction does not satisfy the demand for housing by tenants, which is why she has defended the urgency of betting on rehabilitation.

"We need between 1.5 and 2 million rental homes to match the European averages. In 2021, 94,000 completion visas were issued. How many years are we going to need to provide rental housing as a new build if of those 94,000 visas only 20% go for rent? There is a 'gap' (gap) between the offer that we are going to be able to put on the market and the social need, rehabilitation comes to play a key and fundamental role, "he specified.

The director of the Real Estate director of Anticipa Real Estate also believes that "it is time to bet on the rehabilitation of homes", something that his company is already doing as a manager of housing portfolios. Campos has urged to take advantage of the Next Generation funds and has asked the administrations to quickly process the licenses and subsidies.

"A clear communication plan is necessary from the Administration, almost an evangelization plan is needed so that people are aware of the need for these funds", he pointed out during the Europa Press Real Estate Conference.

The Appraisal Society estimates that some 22 million homes in Spain lack energy rate certification, which is why they have begun to download records to help Spanish banks work on the rehabilitation and energy efficiency processes that "a few years ago did not enter in his gaze", as Villanueva has said.

The director of Strategy and Sustainability of the AEB has confirmed the statements of Villanueva, of the Appraisal Society, and has recognized that the rehabilitation "had not been of interest to any agent in the sector".

However, now there is a "debate on rehabilitation", with a response "very close to the sublime" from the Government, with the promotion of tax incentives and a modernization of part of the regulatory framework, as Del Rieu has said.

"There are 700,000 rehabilitation actions with a cost of 10,500 million euros, which without European funds can only be financed by private initiative," he added.