Ignacio Martos, president of Tinsa, has welcomed the meeting saying that although the recovery began in the big cities and in certain enclaves of the coast, it is already being seen that the "expanding wave is reaching secondary enclaves, which leads to confirm that the recovery is already here."
Consequently, the first panel discussion "Challenges of the new residential development", moderated by the IESE professor, José Luiz Suárez, was attended by Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, president of Vía Célere, ASPRIMA and APCE; David Martínez Montero, CEO of Aedas Homes; Ricardo Pumar, CEO of Grupo Insur and Juan Velayos, CEO of Neinor Homes.
All have agreed that the real estate is at a good time, although it is vital to deal with many inertias that have not changed. David Martínez, CEO of Aedas, stated that the plots are increasingly complicated to buy. "We have seen growth in the price of land and housing that is not very sustainable in markets such as Madrid, and we expect this dynamic to return to normal, because we need growth to be sustainable".
The promoters agreed that all agents have to work hand in hand to make it possible. "There is a lot of room for improvement in the efficiency of the supply chain. And, on the other hand, it is essential that the Administration to be also more efficient regarding land and licenses," said Juan Velayos, CEO of Neinor Homes. A pending subject that seems far from being a reality. "We are seeing that the Public Administration is not into it. The ground is still demonized and that is a fundamental part of our activity: it represents 50% of the value of the house," said David Martínez.
Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, president of Asprima and Vía Célere, pointed out that the future of the sector requires concentration, because size matters. "If you're not big, you have less ability to negotiate with suppliers and greater difficulties in accessing financing," he says.
All the promoters agreed that access to housing by young people is another pending major challenge.
The panel discussion about the tertiary sector emphasized the need for differentiation. Manuel Vericat, Managing Director Southern Europe of Logicor, observed on the growth of demand that is occurring in the logistics scope. "In Madrid 60% of the contracted area is new product and in Barcelona 50% because the user requests a different product to the existing park", affirmed Vericat.
In the hotel sector, Raúl González, CEO of Barceló, discussed the need to differentiate to coexist with the tourist rental phenomenon. "If we only offer bed, shower and TV, it will be a commodity that will be sold at a price. The key to the hotel is specialization. Offer something, experiences, that the client values, not only the sleeping part," said González.
This is also a great challenge in shopping centers, which have to attract buyers who increasingly surrender themselves to electronic commerce. "We are converging towards the integration of the online and offline world. The speed of change has changed. Before, the shopping center did not change its offer since it was opened until it was sold and now we are updating the operators and the offer to the preferences of the demand. Programming experiences gain weight in the offer of the shopping center", said Javier Solís, Business Development Director of Unibail-Rodamco.
Pere Viñolas, CEO of Colonial, pointed as a trend in the coming years to change the design of the prime business area, "The CBD will surely change. No longer connected to a specific location, but linked to the proximity to transportation hubs and a series of essential services."