The segment of branded residences, homes linked to recognised brands and equipped with differentiated services, is making progress on the Iberian Peninsula with 47 projects identified since 2016/17, more than 2,400 units and a total surface area of more than 700,000 sqm. The figures come from the first report prepared by the Branded Residences Monitor, a new observatory that was created with the aim of providing knowledge, professionalism and analysis tools to this niche of the real estate market.
According to the study, 46.8% of these developments are for residential use, although there is a balance with tourist and mixed-use typologies. At present, 62% of the total area under development and 49% of the homes under construction are located in Spain. In addition, 53.19% of the projects currently underway are expected to be completed in the next 36 months.
Geographically, Faro and the province of Malaga concentrate the largest number of initiatives and volume of assets in Portugal and Spain, respectively. Lisbon and Madrid also stand out as relevant locations for this type of product. The report shows that the price of the most exclusive branded residences in both countries is close to 24 million euros.
The launch of the Branded Residences Monitor responds to the need to structure a sector that is expanding but still little known. The observatory is structured around two tools: a White Paper, which will cover everything from the basic concepts to the players involved and the typological differences of these assets, and a series of periodic reports with updated data on the supply and emerging trends in Spain and Portugal.
"Both Spain and Portugal are in the focus of residential and tourism real estate investors for branded residences, a segment that offers great potential for both countries," says Jesús Rodríguez Maseda, president of the Branded Residences Monitor. "Despite this expansion, these properties are assets whose depth is unknown in the Iberian Peninsula. The observatory was born from the need for knowledge, which aspires to be the source of reference information for all the actors involved in this sector through objective, rigorous and contrasted data", he adds.
This type of asset originated in the United States, where they emerged between the 1920s and 1930s. In Spain, precedents such as timeshares and condo-hotels appeared in the 1960s and 1970s, but it was not until 2017 that the first branded residence in the strict sense of the term was launched. Since then, the number of initiatives has multiplied to reach the 47 identified in the report.
The main challenges in the sector include regulatory complexity, high operating costs and direct dependence on the brand under which they are marketed. As opportunities, the study highlights their usefulness as an investment vehicle, their capacity to dynamise commercial environments, their attractiveness for the international market and their contribution to the global positioning of the destinations where they are developed.