22
de Novembre
de
2016
Act.
22
de Novembre
de
2016
"Luxury homes are bought to live in, when looking to make a profit it is much easier to buy 10 flats for 400,000 euros each than one house worth four million." Artur Stabinski, luxury housing consultant from Coldwell Banker, points out the differences in the Barcelona housing market. At a time when the price of rents is growing out of control and in which flats bought for cash are once again becoming a sure investment, the luxury housing market is in a world of its own.
There is no rush to sell houses in Pedralbes, flats on Passeig de Gràcia or attic flats in Turó Park. As supply is scarce, the owners tend to ask for very high prices. "That makes the process of selling take much longer. Selling a luxury house means a year or year and a half of work," insists Stabinski. It took even longer, up to three years, for the Russian tycoon Vadim Sukharev to complete the purchase of the Alella governor's residence, which went through on Monday. Larger than Parc de la Ciutadella, it is to be turned into a luxury hotel.
Another firm working with this type of housing is Amat Immobiliaris. "The time a sale takes depends a lot on the starting price. The closer it is to the market price, the quicker the sale will go through," says Guifré Homedes Amat. However, "as a rule at least six months is needed. As there is not so much demand for flats worth over a million euros, it always takes longer to find buyers," he adds.
An attractive city for foreign buyers
"Barcelona is a very attractive city that always generates interest among foreign investors and buyers," says Artur Stabinski. The head of Coldwell Banker identifies the main clients as "buyers looking for a whim in the form of a home. They can be from Switzerland, the United States or the Arab countries."
Amat Immobiliaris also insists that the high-standing market has been based on foreign buyers for years and is focused on certain areas of Barcelona." Guifré Homedes Amat says that, in his firm's case, they sell a lot to "Egyptians, Europeans and increasingly more Chinese."
Yet, why is it that they come to look here? "There are two routes: the first is the brand, which gives us access to a large database of clients," says the Coldwell Banker consultant. The second are "personal contacts that both the company and consultants have built up over years. They know a potential buyer or someone who might know one," says Artur Stabinski. In this sector, he points out, "most sales come from different direct or indirect contacts."
In the case of a family firm like Amat Immobiliaris, Guifré Homedes points to their "ant-like work". Every year they travel around the world to establish relationships with different real estate agents, investment consultants or private banks, which are the people who end up sending them clients. "Most sales come from collaborating. It is about travelling, opening doors and becoming a reference point in Barcelona. So that when someone has a client looking for a home in Barcelona, they think of your firm."
In any case, the fact of addressing a very limited public involves a sales process that is very different from what is usual in the sector. "You do not sell a luxury house by putting an ad in the newspapers," says Stabinski. "You have to try to directly reach this public, who are people used to receiving a number of different offers on a daily basis." Therefore, you need to go slowly with the added difficulty that they require maximum confidentiality. "It is doubly difficult: you have to publicise the house while at the same time maintaining confidentiality," says the Coldwell Banker consultant.
What are luxury homes like?
The factors that cause a house to be considered luxury are, for the most part, the location and the finishes. "Some prefer marble floors and others hardwood, but we are always talking about a high level of finishes," says Stabinski. "The quality of the finishes has a big influence, as does the location or the doorman service, which solves a lot of problems for them and means they do not have to worry as much," points out Homedes Amat.
And naturally, all of this is reflected in the price. "In Passeig de Gràcia a flat goes for around 10,000 euros per square metre, and an attic flat can be as much as 12,000 or 13,000 euros," says the Coldwell Banker consultant. "For houses on Avinguda Pearson you need to take into consideration both the price of the house and the plot of land it is on, as they also go for 10,000 euros per square metre under construction," he adds.
Guifré Homedes adds that in the Diagonal Mar area, where "we see only drawbacks, foreigners see the beach, the sea and a different skyline." It is an area where you can pay 6,000 euros per square metre for a 10th floor flat, while a 20th floor attic flat in the same building might go for 10,000 euros per square metre. For the head of Amat Immobiliaris, "in Barcelona few real sales are made for more than 12,000 euros per square metre."
The profile
There is little need to point out that these prices are not within the reach of everyone. "We are talking about business people and top executives. They are also people who have sold their companies and are retiring to Barcelona," points out Artur Stabinski. The Coldwell Banker consultant also says that "in recent years we have seen a number of young business people between 30 and 40 who have made a lot of money with new technology and want to invest in housing in Barcelona."
For Homedes Amat, "they are normally families with children who are looking for a second home. They come for a few months and for the rest of the year perhaps rent out to people they know." However, the most common thing is that they are "top executives, people with good jobs."
There is no rush to sell houses in Pedralbes, flats on Passeig de Gràcia or attic flats in Turó Park. As supply is scarce, the owners tend to ask for very high prices. "That makes the process of selling take much longer. Selling a luxury house means a year or year and a half of work," insists Stabinski. It took even longer, up to three years, for the Russian tycoon Vadim Sukharev to complete the purchase of the Alella governor's residence, which went through on Monday. Larger than Parc de la Ciutadella, it is to be turned into a luxury hotel.
Another firm working with this type of housing is Amat Immobiliaris. "The time a sale takes depends a lot on the starting price. The closer it is to the market price, the quicker the sale will go through," says Guifré Homedes Amat. However, "as a rule at least six months is needed. As there is not so much demand for flats worth over a million euros, it always takes longer to find buyers," he adds.
An attractive city for foreign buyers
"Barcelona is a very attractive city that always generates interest among foreign investors and buyers," says Artur Stabinski. The head of Coldwell Banker identifies the main clients as "buyers looking for a whim in the form of a home. They can be from Switzerland, the United States or the Arab countries."
Amat Immobiliaris also insists that the high-standing market has been based on foreign buyers for years and is focused on certain areas of Barcelona." Guifré Homedes Amat says that, in his firm's case, they sell a lot to "Egyptians, Europeans and increasingly more Chinese."
Yet, why is it that they come to look here? "There are two routes: the first is the brand, which gives us access to a large database of clients," says the Coldwell Banker consultant. The second are "personal contacts that both the company and consultants have built up over years. They know a potential buyer or someone who might know one," says Artur Stabinski. In this sector, he points out, "most sales come from different direct or indirect contacts."
In the case of a family firm like Amat Immobiliaris, Guifré Homedes points to their "ant-like work". Every year they travel around the world to establish relationships with different real estate agents, investment consultants or private banks, which are the people who end up sending them clients. "Most sales come from collaborating. It is about travelling, opening doors and becoming a reference point in Barcelona. So that when someone has a client looking for a home in Barcelona, they think of your firm."
In any case, the fact of addressing a very limited public involves a sales process that is very different from what is usual in the sector. "You do not sell a luxury house by putting an ad in the newspapers," says Stabinski. "You have to try to directly reach this public, who are people used to receiving a number of different offers on a daily basis." Therefore, you need to go slowly with the added difficulty that they require maximum confidentiality. "It is doubly difficult: you have to publicise the house while at the same time maintaining confidentiality," says the Coldwell Banker consultant.
What are luxury homes like?
The factors that cause a house to be considered luxury are, for the most part, the location and the finishes. "Some prefer marble floors and others hardwood, but we are always talking about a high level of finishes," says Stabinski. "The quality of the finishes has a big influence, as does the location or the doorman service, which solves a lot of problems for them and means they do not have to worry as much," points out Homedes Amat.
And naturally, all of this is reflected in the price. "In Passeig de Gràcia a flat goes for around 10,000 euros per square metre, and an attic flat can be as much as 12,000 or 13,000 euros," says the Coldwell Banker consultant. "For houses on Avinguda Pearson you need to take into consideration both the price of the house and the plot of land it is on, as they also go for 10,000 euros per square metre under construction," he adds.
Guifré Homedes adds that in the Diagonal Mar area, where "we see only drawbacks, foreigners see the beach, the sea and a different skyline." It is an area where you can pay 6,000 euros per square metre for a 10th floor flat, while a 20th floor attic flat in the same building might go for 10,000 euros per square metre. For the head of Amat Immobiliaris, "in Barcelona few real sales are made for more than 12,000 euros per square metre."
The profile
There is little need to point out that these prices are not within the reach of everyone. "We are talking about business people and top executives. They are also people who have sold their companies and are retiring to Barcelona," points out Artur Stabinski. The Coldwell Banker consultant also says that "in recent years we have seen a number of young business people between 30 and 40 who have made a lot of money with new technology and want to invest in housing in Barcelona."
For Homedes Amat, "they are normally families with children who are looking for a second home. They come for a few months and for the rest of the year perhaps rent out to people they know." However, the most common thing is that they are "top executives, people with good jobs."