“It does not tackle the problem of our real estate market. The solutions are others and must be agreed between the Government and the rest of the sectors involved,” she said.
Planas made the statement during a meeting entitled ‘Notes on current affairs in the real estate and construction sector in the Balearics’, organised by KPMG.
Planas recalled that in the Balearics there is “higher demand than the supply in all areas of the property market”.
“It is a problem that is difficult to solve and requires far-reaching measures, not improvised ones, because the real estate sector in the islands continues to be enormously attractive for non-residents, who see opportunities both for business and for second or first homes,” she added.
KPMG’s partner in charge of the Balearics, Francisco Albertí, said that the lack of housing “deserves a thorough debate to find housing solutions such as streamlining the regulations so that builders and developers make affordable housing developments to which local residents who do not have the means or aid have access”.
In Albertí’s opinion, the solution to the problem “is not to prohibit non-residents from buying, as these are also the nationals who come from the mainland, such as doctors or policemen, who should be able to access housing in the Balearics”.
“The expected European funds also include aid for urban regeneration, housing rehabilitation and, in addition, we need a legal framework to increase the number of subsidised housing or privately promoted housing with prices that are profitable,” he said.
“he director general of the Balearic Builders’ Association, Sandra Verger, stated that this is “an unfeasible proposal that goes against the basic principles of the European Union of free movement of people and capital, and does not solve the housing problem in the Balearics”.
This type of measure “does not help to build affordable housing. “The price of housing has increased in recent years by around 50% despite the measures and limitations promoted by the Administration. Limiting the purchase by non-residents will have the same effect, it is not the solution,” she said.
The president of the employers’ association also defended the fact that construction is “one of the leading sectors of the business fabric, a key sector, moreover, in a limited geography where the consumption of territory is highly conditioned and where sustainability is an objective that cannot be renounced”.
“It is a sector that provides employment and which, moreover, has been the first in the Islands to completely recover from the pandemic.”
The problem most affecting the sector is “the rise in the price of construction materials due to inflation, which has affected and is affecting the entire business fabric”.
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.