The main leaders of the Spanish real estate sector met yesterday at the VI Iberian Reit & Listed Conference, where they analysed the new opportunities within the current economic context in which interest rates have reached the highest levels in the last ten years. Faced with this situation, listed real estate companies have already adapted and predict an increase in demand and growth in profitability for this year.
The first speaker of the day was Dominique Moerenhout, CEO of EPRA, who analysed the challenges facing the real estate market and expressed his optimism about the profitability of the listed sector in 2024. Luigi Speranza, Global Head of Markets 360 and Chief Economist at BNP Paribas, also hosted a keynote presentation in the same format, assessing the challenges of financing the real estate sector.
In the first panel discussion, moderated by Borja Ortega, CEO of BNP Paribas RE Spain, the representatives of the main Socimi, Pere Viñolas, CEO of Colonial; Ismael Clemente, CEO of Merlin Properties; David Martínez, CEO of Aedas Homes; and Miguel Pereda, President of Grupo Lar and Vice President of Lar España, participated in an interesting debate on the performance of their companies during last year and future prospects.
Pere Viñolas, CEO of Colonial, highlighted the differences between the different international markets and stressed that the rents of its assets are growing; for his part, Ismael Clemente, CEO of Merlin, was moderately optimistic about the sector's performance. Miguel Pereda, Chairman of Grupo Lar, also warned about the possible fall in consumption and pointed out the need to organise an "intelligent rotation of assets". And in the opinion of David Martínez, CEO of Aedas Homes, the past year has been a year in which we have confirmed that demand is in "good shape".
After a short coffee break where participants had the chance to network, Mariano Miguel, Equity Research Analyst - Real Assets at Banco Santander, illustrated the impact of the price of money on the performance of listed companies in the real estate sector.
Following the analyst presentation, the second round table of the morning began, moderated by Carlos Portocarrero, partner at Clifford Chance, which brought together Tamara Marañón, Director of Capital Markets at AEDAS Homes; José Ramón Iturriaga, Fund Manager at Abante Asesores; Jon Armentia, Corporate Director and CFO of Lar España; Ignacio Carvajal, Partner/Portfolio Manager at Cartesio; and Aurore Anbergen, Head of Investor Relations at Ascencio. The speakers delved into the recent impacts of the real estate market, current macro trends and the opportunities offered by the pay-as-you-go model.
The impact of technology on real estate profitability
Artificial Intelligence and generative AI are going to bring about one of the most important changes for society in general and for businesses as well. IBM's Global Managing Partner, Generative AI, Matthew Candy, explained that "the application of AI in real estate does not necessarily mean increasing revenue, but it will definitely save money by reducing processing times and increasing productivity."
The final panel discussion, moderated by Antonio Gil Machado, partner at Grupo Iberinmo, focused on how the listed real estate sector must adapt to new technologies in order to take advantage of the new opportunities they offer. To discuss these issues, the round table included Valentina Shegoyan, managing partner of Reach UK; Bill Kistler, founder and managing partner of Urban Ovation; and Álvaro Ontañón, IT director of Merlin Properties.
Iberian Property will soon publish a Special Story with a deeper overview of this event - stay tuned!