The Increasing Interest in Sareb Properties: A Cost-Effective Option for Homeownership in Castellón

This is how they express it real estate agents from Castellón, such as José María Amorós, from Rues Inmogestion, which explains that, although the prices are very good, “the handicap we find with Sareb is that, for any purchase and sale, the Generalitat (Conselleria) has the right of first refusal and withdrawal.” The problem is that the client interested in buying first applies for a mortgage and pays for the necessary appraisal, and when it is finally approved, he or she has to wait to see the Conselleria’s decision whether or not to keep the apartment. It’s anguish. And if in the end you choose to buy it for the same price for social rent, what happens to the expenses that the individual has paid out of pocket? Another factor is time. “The average response time is up to three months, although lately it is true that the Conselleria responds sooner on whether they exercise the preferential right to purchase, and they do so between 15 and 20 days,” he added.

A young profile

Usually, in Castellón, those who go all out to try to get a Sareb apartment are young people who have been renting for years and decide to try to take the step of becoming owners. «They are usually young couples who are rentings paying 600-700 euros per month, given the current situation of the rental market and the limited supply,” Amorós said. So, the moment they see the opportunity, “they want to choose to buy a home, their parents help them with 15% of the amount; and then the mortgage for that Sareb apartment can cost them 350, half. “With which they are saving money.”

Promotions to end

Another area of ​​Sareb’s business is «works in progress» (2,719, which include unfinished promotions, and few resumed). «We have two blocks like this in Sant Joan de Moró. In one, the skeleton for six floors was made and is now being sold to finish the work. Another in Segorbe is paralyzed by the court. And in Moncofa it was finished and now 90 apartments are on the market. The public administration should be encouraged to promote land for VPO that would boost employment and free up the market,” he concluded.

A stock that has decreased by more than a thousand in three years

The Asset Management Company from Bank Restructuring has almost 3,000 homes (2,911, specifically) for sale throughout the province of Castellón. The stock has been reduced by about 1,500 less than three years, compared to the 4,447 it had in fiscal year 2020.

Sareb’s assets of all types –check this search engine– They have gone from 9,900 in 2020 to 10,652 today. This includes both apartments and premises, land, etc. While the assets have gone up; The homes have become lighter.

The x-ray has changed. In 2020 Castellón, according to data from the Ministry of Urban Agenda, It had a stock of homes to sell, overall, of 25,000 – and of these, those from Sareb (almost 5,000) accounted for 18% -; and now, with 23,486, those from the bad bank (almost 3,000) constitute 12%.

Annual sales before the pandemic averaged around 394; while during 2022, the most recent data provided by Sareb, there are 570 transactions of residential properties to individuals signed in those 12 months in the province of Castellón. By municipality, Sareb’s highest sales, according to the report provided to Mediterráneo, occurred in Castelló, Moncofa, Orpesa, Almassora and San Jordi –-These being, except for Almassora and Castellón, enclaves with a wide vocation for tourist use–.

In this regard, José María Amorós, managing director of Rues Inmogestion –one of Sareb’s real estate marketers, which accounts for 80% of its business– explained that “this past summer many apartments in residential blocks were sold in the Marina d’Or complex, in Orpesa.” Prices are the main incentive, in a context of high interest mortgages. «Beachfront homes were sold from 80,000 euros; and in the second, for 60,000. They were ready to move in. They are 65 m2, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage (and the second one, a storage room).

From 30,000 euros

Sareb apartments have low, competitive prices, which subsequently reduce a mortgage “that you can take out with the bank you want” without guidelines. Amorós adds that, on a day-to-day basis, he observes a trend: «from Sareb, more second-hand apartments come in than entire new developments to sell. They are to be renovated and we warn you: there are very few new constructions. “They have been seized from owners who did not pay fees and have left them in quite a bad way.”

For 30,000 euros, you see 60 m2 homes, with two bedrooms and a bathroom,” but They need to adapt it “from 7,000 to 8,000 euros in a reform; and the additional cost of certifying the habitability of second occupancy –because water and electricity have been cut off and to re-register a report signed by the architect/engineer and delivered to the city council is needed–.

The social aspect: A ‘quota’ of 1,769 for families with few resources

The website www.sareb.es published in April a map with its available homes by province, including Castellón, so that Public Administrations can acquire. In Castellón province, according to Sareb, there are 1,769 homes available for this purpose, intended for social use by families with fewer resources that meet a series of requirements.

«It must be taken into account that, if the City Councils or the autonomous communities – the Valencian Generalitat, in this case – do not show interest in purchasing this type of property, these are still for sale in retail channels and can be purchased by from individuals,” indicated from Management of Assets Arising from Bank Restructuring.

Along the same lines, Sareb launched its Social Rental and Accompaniment Program, with personalized management for the people who live in their homes. In the first year, 6,000 social rental contracts were approved in Spain and in Castellón, there are now more than 90. Furthermore, with the new program One, Sareb is locating land in different municipalities to build affordable housing (15,000 throughout Spain, with a first phase of 3,500 this 2023). For now, they did not provide details about Castellón.