Spanish property renaissance hailed by Bloomberg

Spain’s property and construction industry is looking bullish once again.

One of the largest, most respected and persuasive voices in the global media shone a complimentary spotlight on Spain’s “property renaissance’ last week – prompting an even greater level of confidence throughout the market than what was already evident…

International news group Bloomberg has reported in depth on Spain’s property market, interviewing analysts, economists and construction workers right across the country – as well as Europe – and painting a rather pretty picture.

Bloomberg’s report begins with the tale of Sergio Berdión, a 36-year-old real estate professional who recently returned from Chile to take advantage of Spain’s recovering fortunes.

“Things are definitely better,” he enthuses. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to the boom days, but there’s more and more work.” Berdión acts as an intermediary between building contractors and architects, and he is one of thousands of professionals who are excited by the prospect of a strong and stable Spanish property market.

Recent data shows that 2015 is likely to be the first year since 2007 that annual price increases are recorded across the whole of Spain, and investors are being rewarded with what Bloomberg calls “some of the best returns in Europe”.

Bart Gysens, a Morgan Stanley analyst based in London, told Bloomberg that more and more investors now believe that Spain’s property market is the real deal. “The fundamentals are improving, and we are also seeing signs the rental market is improving. We are confident we are at the beginning of what could well be a multi-year recovery.”

For companies operating within the industry, the data is unstintingly positive. Merlin Properties Socimi SA, which owns private real estate, hotels, shopping malls and commercial buildings, saw its value climb 33 per cent this year, and shareholder Paul Van de Vaart spoke glowingly of the country’s upturn in fortunes.

“The macro outlook is improving, the Spanish opportunity is high on the agenda and Merlin is one of the companies that can get you that exposure,” he said.

The construction industry is set to account for five per cent of the Spanish GDP this year. Not as high as the 11 per cent it represented in 2007, but far more than the 2.6 per cent it contributed during the recession years between 2008 and 2013, Bloomberg added.