houses

Data centers shooting the light of light in the houses

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Spain is betting very strong for the development and creation of new data centers. The AI ​​boom has infected our country, and although that attracts investment and economic capital, it can also lead to serious problems for consumers. Especially a very clear one: that we pay more for the light. Spain, care with data centers. In recent months we have seen how Data centers construction projects grow In our country. It is estimated that in the Community of Madrid there will be a power of 1.7 GW in 2030, which is paradoxical, because it is the region with greater energy deficit in Spain and the one that is staying with a good part of these projects. Aragon, in another league. Aragon has so many projects of data centers that He showed his disappointment When he knew that the reinforcement of the electricity network for those facilities throughout Spain will be 3.8 GW. Those responsible for the Aragonese government described the figure of “scarce”, especially considering that this region has projects that projects that projects that projects that They would exhaust that capacity alone. The US teaches us (worrying) future. A Bloomberg investigation It reveals how in the last five years the creation of new data centers is making the light invoice rise remarkably. Those centers, previously dedicated to expanding the cloud infrastructure and now totally focused on the AI ​​boom, are behind that increase in light invoice. Energy consumption is triggered in these facilities, and ends up affecting electricity prices in surrounding regions. Prices that almost quadruplic. In 2020 Baltimore residents paid average $ 17 per MW/h. In 2025 that price is $ 38 per MW/h. In Buffalo the thing is even worse, and prices have tripled in five years: they have gone from $ 11 to 33 per MW/h. In the areas of the United States close to large concentrations of data centers, the wholesale price of electricity has risen up to 267% In the last five years. LMP are nodes of the electricity grid that determine the wholesale price of electricity. Almost three out of four have seen price increases when they are close to data centers. Those who are in farther areas have come to see their reduced prices. Source: Bloomberg. Unequal climb. The study reveals how wholesale electricity prices in the US have increased significantly in recent years, although it is true that these increases have been applied unequally at the geographical level: certain areas have seen modest increases, but others have seen how the light of the light was fired and grew up to that aforementioned 267%, close to quadruple. The condemnation of data centers. 70% of the points at which price increases were recorded are less than 80 kilometers of data centers with significant activity. It is a fact that makes it clear that the impact of these data centers on the light of the residents is clear. And this goes to more. Current estimates, Indicates Bnefprevent the energy demand for data centers in the US will double for 2035 and will be the largest increase in energy demand since the 60s. Thus, in ten years that demand will represent 9% of the total. At the global level, the data centers are expected to consume more than 4% of the electricity consumed in 2035. If those facilities were a country, they would be the room in energy consumption, only behind China, USA and India. Perfect storm. The demand is also linked to the rise of cryptodivisas, the impulse of manufacturing in the US and the “electrification of the economy”, which includes areas such as electric vehicles or domestic heating systems. The withdrawal of traditional mining facilities in areas such as Baltimore has only aggravated the economic problem: there is less energy supply and more demand, which makes prices again increase. The world already knows what comes over and is reacting. What is happening in the US is already causing reactions in other countries. Holland: Water and energy needs made the Amsterdam City Council in 2019 imposed A moratorium for the construction of new data centers. Singapore: also established a pause for the creation of this type of facilities between 2019 and 2022, although the government made clear which would be more selective in future projects. Ireland: In 2024 the country reached a worrying milestone. Data centers They already consumed more than households. 5% of the country’s total consumption went through in 2015 to 18% in 2022 and 21% in 2023. Household consumption represented that year 18%. The solution: that the Big Tech pay that invoice. Public service companies in the US such as Dominion Power are clear that “data centers should pay the full cost of their energy consumption.” Large technological ones know very well that these facilities raise an extraordinary energy demand, and They are investigating solutions like him Use of SMR reactors for their AI data centers. The idea is interesting, But complex. Supply and demand. Spain faces a future in which energy supply and demand could be unbalanced as it is already happening in the United States. If data centers begin to impose more and more load on the network, it is reasonable to think that the cost of electricity increases and causes the least desirable effect for users: the rise in the light invoice. Renewables could help mitigate the problem, but only If the network is capable of absorbing Both the new generation and the new mass demand of the data centers. Image | Microsoft

But the houses are real and cost millions of dollars

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Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and one of the richest people in the world, has expanded his empire Beyond online trade and the subspacial missionsto get a luxurious real estate heritage. The millionaire has acquired exclusive properties in some of the most exclusive areas of the United States, which include from luxurious Tríplex mansions and penthouses in Manhattan, to gigantic ranches in Texas and historical properties in Beverly Hills. An empire of strategic mansions and land Bezos’s richness has allowed him to consolidate a real estate portfolio that includes mansions and large extensions of land. Among its best known properties, what was your main residence in Seatle, located in Medina. Very close to the famous Xanadu 2.0 by Bill Gates. Bezos acquired this property in 1998 for 10 million dollars and expanded it considerably with renovations that exceeded 26 million dollars. This property of almost 21,400 m2, has two houses of 1,914 m2 and 771 m2 respectively. That same year he bought for 49 million dollars the La Haye estate, of 2,229 m2, which bordered his house, expanding in two hectares his property on the banks of Lake Washington. According The published by Business Insiderin total, the millionaire treasures up to eight properties in that area. In addition, the founder of Amazon also has several mansions in the exclusive Beverly Hills. Of all of them highlights the historical Jack Warner Estate Mansion For 165 million dollars in 2020, one of the most expensive purchases made by Bezos according to The Wall Street Journal. It also has four other houses in a private complex that include comforts such as tennis court, golf courses and gardens. Always pending the movements of Wall Street, New York remains a strategic enclave for Bezos, so the millionaire It was good to buy Five Apartments 212 Fifth Avenue, adding a total investment of about 119 million dollars. One of those floors is a tríplex attic for which the millionaire paid 80 million dollars. The expansion to the south: Indian Creek, the shelter of the millionaires In 2023, Bezos announced that He moved to Miami To be closer to the Blue Origin operations base (and incidentally saved some hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes). There he would set his main residence in Indian Creek, also known as Billionaire Bunker for his exclusivity and security. Houses by Jeff Bezos in Billionaire Bunker The founder of Amazon has acquired three properties On this small island of 1.2 million square meters where there are only 41 homes. Its investments in this area total more than 300 million dollars. Two of these mansions are contiguous, so the millionaire has repeated the same play as in Seattle and has demolished both mansions to unite them in a single property. According to published The worldwhile the millionaire built his new residence, moved to a mansion in Miami that bought the daughter of the Spanish businessman Publio Cordón for $ 78 million. The taste for the islands of Jeff Bezos is not limited to Miami. According The published by ABCthe millionaire bought in 2021 a 5.7 -hectare estate on the island of Maui, for which he paid about 78 million dollars. A ranch with astronomical dimensions for Blue Origin Texas is another of the key pieces in the real estate framework of Jeff Bezos. To the south of the state is the Rancho Figure 2, a huge ranch of 66,773 hectares, which not only represents a huge investment in land, but fulfills a strategic function as a test laboratory For Blue Origin. In addition, at some point between 2003 and 2024, Jeff Bezos has accumulated more than 161,875 hectares of rustic land, which makes the founder of Amazon Vigoercero major landownerof the US according to the list that every year elaborates Land Report. Something that, again, the millionaire coincides with Bill Gateswhich occupies the 43rd position of that list. In Xataka | Jeff Bezos is making a mansion in Billionires Bunker: the problem is that they don’t know what to do with their excrements Image | Flickr (IAFASTRO)

There are regions of Spain that are building more houses than homes. And not even the wrings even go down

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That Spain suffers A housing deficit It is no novelty. Just as it is not that construction is unable to advance to the rhythm of formation of new homes. ACI, the Real Estate Consulting Association, has just published however A study that reveals something curious: there are 11 provinces in which it is built faster than new homes are constituted. The striking thing is that, although a priori that ‘surplus’ suggests less pressure in the market, its prices do not soften. On the contrary, they grow, as in the rest of the country. Asturias leaves A good example. A fact: 134,649. That is the real estate deficit that Spain accumulated last year according to The last report DE ACI, the Spanish Association of Real Estate Consulting. In this way it may sound abstract or too theoretical, but the data reflects something very simple: the mismatch between the number of housing and the new homes created throughout 2024. While the former stayed at 86,609, the seconds, which grow at much higher speed, amounted to 134,649, aggravating the housing shortage that Spain suffers. What are the reasons? “This lag shows the structural difficulties facing the promoter sector in Spain, derived from both the shortage of finalist land and the increases in construction costs, normative restrictions and delays in urban processing,” concludes The report, which recalls that the 86,609 houses delivered are also below the forecast of new homes. The 2024 deficit is also added to the one registered in recent years and that ACI estimated at 349,934 Since 2020. The association is not the first to warn of the difficulties that Spain is being found to adjust the creation of housing to the formation of New homes. In May the Bank of Spain estimated the lack of housing in Between 400,000 and 450,000 units in the period 2022-2024, an elevated figure, but that moves in any case of the huge hole of 600,000 that indicated in its 2023 report. Analyzing the map in detail. The most interesting thing about ACI study It is not so much the photo at the national level as its details, the information provided by each community. The reason? Although in most cases the delivery of housing was unable to cover the creation of new homes, enlarging its residential deficit, the agency identified 11 provinces in which the result was the inverse. That is, the volume of built houses covered (and exceeded) the creation of households. That is the peculiar situation in which Asturias, Burgos, Cáceres, Ciudad Real, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Soruel, Teruel, Valladolid and Zamora were found, to which the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla are added. Although they got off the general trend of Spain and closed 2024 with ‘residential surplus’, their effect was barely felt on the national balance. Among those 13 territories there are only a plus of 5,005 homes above the houses created. Province Housing delivered New real homes Difference 4th quarter price of 2023 (€/m2) * 4th quarter price of 2024 (€/m2) * Asturias 1.820 257 1,563 1,347.2 1,473.1 Burgos 808 462 346 1,169.3 1,212.3 Cáceres 1,344 267 1,077 849.7 873.4 Ceuta 71 41 30 1,827.3 1,937.5 C. Real 722 655 67 712.5 725.5 Lion 403 62 341 889.8 914.8 Melilla 182 150 32 1,827.3 1,937.5 Palencia 373 -46 419 931.1 954.7 Salamanca 485 220 265 1,218.1 1,230.7 Soria 460 247 213 939.8 968.7 Teruel 305 267 38 819.2 891.4 Valladolid 1.116 970 146 1,309.7 1,374.6 Zamora 152 -316 468 804.4 836.4 National Total 86,609 221.258 -134,649 1,842.3 1,972.1 *The prices are extracted from the official registration of the average appraisal value of the free housing that the government publishes quarterly Why is it interesting? So it reveals to us from the market. Although there are many buyer profiles (investors, families interested in a second residence or people who want to take a property and then dedicate it to the holiday rental), which in those 11 provinces (more Ceuta and Melilla) the delivery of homes exceeds the creation of households suggests a lower pressure of the demand on supply. And that, a priori, should move to market prices. Asturias leaves an especially interesting case. According to Data published by ACIthere last year 1,820 homes were delivered and 257 new real homes were recorded. The balance remained in green numbers with a positive balance of 1,653 homes. The second example is found in Cáceres (1,077), where he accounted for 1,344 homes delivered to 267 new real homes. And what happened to prices? They grew up. Despite this lower pressure in the market and that there was no mismatch between supply and demand for new homes, the house continued to take care. And that tells us about the key weight of other factors, such as costs or demand diversification. Government data on the appraisal value of the house shows that at the end of 2023 the square meter (m2) of free housing in the Principality was at 1,347 euros. A year later it was already at 1,473. The increase was therefore 9.35%, not very different from 9.43%of Madrid and several points above the state average, of 7.05%. If we turn to idealist the photo is similar. The real estate portal estimates that in December 2023 the residential M2 for sale cost in the Principality 1,371 euros and in the same month last year it was already 1,471. In summary: an increase of 7.29%. In THE CASE OF MADRID (Province) There are differences with respect to official appraisal data. During the same period it has passed from 3,208 to 3,771, which leaves an increase much greater than that of Asturias, of around 17.5%. A rising market. The Principality data does not surprise if one takes into account that its real estate market is on the rise. The latest data from the General Council of Notaries, published recently by The voice of AsturiasThey show a 19.9% growth in housing sale operations and an year -on -year increase in the price of 7.7%, although their … Read more

Spain has its own Mykonos. And share with her something more than the coast and the wrapped houses: mass tourism

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Its wrapped houses, terraces, alleys and landscapes of the Mediterranean coast earned him Binibeca Vell The nickname “Mykonos Español”but over time this small town in Menorca has ended looking to the famous island of the cycles for another different reason: the Tourist saturation. As is the case in the Greek destiny, The town It fills every summer of thousands of visitors, an avalanche that is not always easy to fit in the routine of its neighbors. Hence they have decided to take action. A Spanish Mykonos? Yes. In fact, this informal title is disputed by several locations in the country, such as Frigilianain Malaga, or The Moorish Isletin Almería. Both stand out for their low houses of enchanted facades, narrow alleys, terraces and coastal landscapes bathed by the light of the Mediterranean. Exactly the same as Binibeca Vella small urbanization located in the south of Menorca, within the municipality of Sant Lluís. Its landscapes have made time win the nickname “Mykonos Menorquín” and a hole on the websites of the travel agencies, Blogs And even in The promotion of the Balearic institutions. What is its origin? Binibeca is not only known as “Mykonos de Baleares”. The locals also usually refer to it as “fishing village”, although in reality its origin has little to do with the people who make a living in the Mediterranean. The settlement is located in an old sailor shelter, but what we see today rose in the early 1960s as a residential urbanization driven by the rigger Antonio Sintes and the architect Corsini beardwho were inspired by Greece. The result is a picturesque populated with white houses glued to each other, 165 constructions distributed by an built surface of about 8,000 square meters located in a privileged environment, just in front of the sea. The Binibeca owners community stands out Another of its peculiarities: the settlement is “an urbanization”, “a private property” in which it is the residents themselves who are responsible for paying a fee for the maintenance of the area. And do tourists receive? Yes. Many. The community of owners ensures that in recent years visits “have increased significantly” to overcome the 800,000 annuallya considerable fact if one takes into account that in the area they reside just 200 people And during the winter months that figure is minimized. Maybe this disproportion between the number of residents and the great flow of visitors, but makes enough sense. To start with the tourist success of the Balearic Islands in General and Menorca in particular, which receives each year hundreds of thousands of tourists. Secondly, due to the visibility and promotion of the town, both in the networks and through Agencies, Forums And even Balearic institutions. “If you put the Menorca word on Instagram, of every 10 images that appear, three are from Binibeca Vell,” assured last year to The country Óscar Monge, president of the community of owners. What is coexistence like? If the neighbors of Mykonos island know something (the authentic, the one located in the cycles) is that living in a Mediterranean paradise is not always simple. On the website of the urbanization the residents themselves They recognize That the avalanche of tourists has a direct effect in its day to day, “complicating coexistence.” “Port adventure looks like, but they at least charge you the entrance,” summarize Monge. In practice that translates into dealing with tourists eager to achieve the best Selfie They do not hesitate to sneak into a private terrace to get it. “Tourists touch everything. One of our neighbors has many plants in pots and tourists move them to get a better photo. They sit in chairs in private porches,” explained a few months ago to The Telegraph one of the inhabitants of the urbanization. “They speak very high and the noise resonates because the town is small and closed. They sit on the stairs and, when the owner asks them to move, they refuse because they want to get the perfect photo.” And what have they done? Move token. That Binibeca is a private urbanization with a community of owners, not a real town of fishermen, makes its residents face tourist saturation with a different approach to that of other Balearic residents. Last year The community decreed that would allow visits only in a certain time slot, during the day. The rest of the time the space would remain closed with chains with notices. In The urbanization website A small plane can be consulted in which the visible areas, passage areas and the visiting schedule are detailed, restricted from 10.00 to 22.00 h. There are also certain guidelines for visitors: they are silent, keep the environment clean, not take photos for commercial purposes or inside the houses and, of course, that they do not enter into private homes or feel on the terraces. “When you visit us remember that you have entered a private property and you must respect the privacy of the neighbors,” They underline. Is there more? Yes. In 2023 the community and the Consell de Menorca reached a pact to lighten tourist pressure on the town, which passed among other issues to regulate the arrival of buses or help in the conservation of the area. The agreement It was not renewed However and a year ago the community threatened to go further and Vote the total closure From urbanization to tourism, a drastic measure because the flow of tourists is key to the businesses located in the area. “We pay expensive to be the most popular tourist attraction of Menorca”, Monge lamented. “Binibeca is promoted by the island administration and tourism companies, but what benefit do we get from it? We have nothing against tourism, but sometimes it seems that we live in Disneyland.” Their complaints of 2024 have served for the moment to promote a change in tourists, among which they appreciate (except exceptions) an attitude “a bit more moderate.” And what do they plan to do? A few days ago residents shared with … Read more

An unexpected buyer is turning houses, temples and abandoned factories from Japan into tourist accommodations: China

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Something is happening in Japan for a while to this part, a phenomenon that began with waves of Chinese tourists who came to the nation To stayand then extended through zones, where the proliferation of “new chinatowns” was giving rise to neighborhoods with Chinese than Japanese. The theme became something more serious when this “chinification” reached one of the national bastions: Pop culture. The latest: Beijing is buying its most traditional architecture and turning it into Resort tourist. Kyoto as shuttle. He told him Nikkei weekend In an extensive report. In a Japan where modernity threatens to eclipse centuries of tradition, the figure of Yuichi Ishikura embodies a phenomenon as unexpected as decisive: the Rescue of the architectural heritage traditional by Chinese citizens. Born in the province of Fujian and raised from adolescence in Kyoto, Ishikura found her vocation after a personal experience in a guest house during her university studies in the United States. Upon his return to Japan in 2015, with just 23 years, he acquired his first Machiya (Typical narrow and deep wood housing built since the EDO period) for just over 10 million yen. He transformed it into a tourist accommodation and, in just three years, he had recovered his investment. Since then he has renewed More than 60 properties Similar, including the Shichikutei house, near the Kyoto station, and has declared its intention to become the number one operator of Machiyas throughout Japan. The threat of the Machiya. It is not a trivial theme in Japan. The Kyo-Machiya are architectural jewelry of the old capital, and are disappearing to the alarming rhythm of about 800 a yearpressed for the high cost of its maintenance, inheritance taxes and the real estate voracity that replaces them with apartments and floors. And while the Japanese seem to resign themselves to that disappearance, foreign investors (especially of Chinese origin) They are turning that crisis into the opportunity. Here, like Nikkei explainedFigures like Lee Wendy, a native restorative of Shanghai who have rehabilitated 40 Machiya and perfectly reflect this trend. The phenomenon has grown so much that, according to a study by the city of Kyoto, a 30 % of the accommodations Under municipal license are in the hands of some 500 foreigners, many of them Chinese buyers who have converted these traditional houses in tourist accommodations without losing their aesthetic or historical value. Temples for sale. The phenomenon is not limited to houses. In rural areas such as Shiso, in Hyogo Prefecture, Buddhist temples They have also started Change hands in the absence of successors priests. One of these temples, acquired by a Chinese buyer after the death of the main priest in 2017, has generated local controversy for the informal use of the enclosure. Meanwhile, other temples have had to publicly go out to Define rumors Sales disseminated on platforms as Rednotea Chinese social network in which deceptive ads circulate that promise tax benefits for acquiring religious properties. One of the most popular cases was the Jisso-in Monzeki templewith 800 years of history, which He denied categorically Be for sale, after detecting false publications aimed at Chinese investors. The fiscal attractiveness. Behind this fever for acquiring temples, sanctuaries and Japanese traditional houses Nikkei had That there is a double attraction: on the one hand, the cultural and architectural value that represents for many Chinese citizens a difficult heritage in their native country. On the other, and equally important, the favorable fiscal conditions For religious institutions in Japan, which attract investors with commercial vision. Real estate sector executives in Osaka confirm that they have intermediate in the sale of religious properties to companies based in Hong Kong and are currently promoting other enclosures in Kyoto and Nara. And the sake. The phenomenon has gone much further. The conservation of the cultural legacy has also reached other spheres. In 2019, Zhou Chunbao, Shanghai businessman, Matsuoshuzojo acquireda historic Sake distillery in the saga prefecture that was on the verge of closing due to management problems. Motivated by their desire that the Chinese people know the Japanese culture through the Sake, Zhou revitalized the company and its production, which in 2022 reached regional recognition by winning the highest award in the Junmai Daiginjo category. Zhou’s intervention saved from oblivion a local institution whose history goes back at the end of the Edo period, at a time when the sake industry is It has drastically reducedwith a 40 % decrease in the number of distilleries and a 20 % drop of its historical volume of national sales. The “soul” of Japan. Thus, and while the tangible heritage of Japan (from traditional houses to centenary temples and ancestral distilleries) faces a slow but constant disappearance due to the lack of successors, it seems that it is a generation of Chinese investors who are willing to assume the challenge of keeping it. What for some represents a loss of cultural control, for others it becomes an unexpected form of continuity. Thus, in the face of the passivity or inability of certain local sectors, new heirs (Chinese) are arranged not only to invest capital, but also to revalue with sensitivity and pragmatism that for centuries has been the material essence of Japanese identity. Image | GIVE CRUSE In Xataka | Japan is living something unpublished in its most emblematic neighborhoods: the “chinification” of anime and video games In Xataka | A phenomenon that has already happened in New York is spreading throughout Japan: neighborhoods with younger than Japanese

Tired of technology, they want houses as “dumb” as possible

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Voice attendees, Like Alexa Or Google Assistant democratized household domotization, and lighting the lights with a voice command, controlling the washing machine remotely from the smartphone or making the purchase directly from the refrigerator was normalized. However, until a few years ago, The house domotized and automated were a privilege reserved only for The ultra -tricious tenants. That trend has taken a radical turn and, at present, the great fortunes seek just the opposite: “dumb” houses. Digital detoxification: a new form of luxury “We often hear our clients say that they don’t want a smartest house than them,”assured Holly Hunt, interior designer of luxury houses, Town & Country. It is not an isolated case. More and more ultra -ups want their homes to have the Less presence of technology possible. Far away from those years in which great Hollywood stars, such as Sofia Vergara, presumed to control all appliances from your home from your smartphone. Bill Gates brought his famous Xanadu 2.0 mansion to another level. As published Business InsiderGates’ guests received a device with which the house automatically detected its presence and adjusted the lighting of the stay, its temperature or the ambient music depending on their tastes. Today, the Ultrarricos prefer to get away from these houses Hyperconnected, “there was a time when attracting a high -level buyer meant having flat screens in almost all rooms, including external areas. However, in the current, excessively automated market, excess technology can be a great discouragement,” said Pacific Sotheby’s real estate agent, Gillian Flynn, in statements to The Hollywood Reporter. Experts in this type of high -end houses, such as India Alexandra, of the Real Estate The Mod House, They assured to Financial Times that “there are elements of the smart houses that some buyers find attractive because they provide comfort, control and efficiency. But, without a doubt, we have customers than prefer to live in houses with simpler and more traditional technology Linked to simple pleasures: take a long bath, turn on the heat, cook over low heat. The real estate expert stressed that “people lead a busy life, and a house is usually a refuge of technology that, otherwise, dominates life.” Thus, the ultra -ups no longer conceive their home as an automated place, but as a refuge of disconnection in getting away from screens and any type of technology. The hidden discomforts of smart houses One of the main conditions of this change in tendency is the constant advance of this technology, which does not always adopt the same standards and generate incompatibilities and programmed obsolescence That makes them old very badly. “The data show that approximately 57 % of housing owners with smart devices face compatibility problems, which makes the management of a connected home focus less on ease and more on problem solving. Intelligent technology is not always as simple as it is announced,” He pointed out George Carrillo, Executive Director of the Hispanic Construction Council in statements collected by the Real Estate Portal Realtor. Carrie Livingston, interior designer of Beverly Hills, commented on The Hollywood Reporter that their clients were tired of their Home automation systems valued at more than $ 100,000. “They did not find a single light switch throughout the house. The wife complained that every time she got up at night, her husband saw her illuminated path while she went from bed to the bathroom”, since the system automatically detected its movement and was turning on all the lights. Instead, “other times, it entered a dark room where the lights did not turn on how much stirred their arms,” ​​finally Livingston chose to eliminate the entire home system and Opt for a simple switch. Eyes everywhere The Domotized systems They also pose significant concerns in terms of security. According to Leonie Tanczer, an associated professor in International Security and Emerging Technologies to Financial Timesany device connected to the Internet It is likely to be hacked. In the same line they position themselves Cybersecurity companies such as Kaspersky, which alert about the safety vulnerabilities of connected devices and the risk that cybercriminals can access these cameras and take control of the entire home system. It is almost how to give them the house key. Another problem is the massive collection of data by these devices. All appliancesfrom the vacuum, the washing machine or the refrigerator, through the air conditioning or the TV, it is permanently connected to the Internet and collects data that reveal patterns of use and schedules, to give an example. In contrast, a “dumb” house eliminates these risks by completely dispensing with unnecessary digital connections. For many millionaires, the real luxury now lies in having a simple home where they can light the lights with a switch basic without worrying about invasive technological ecosystems. In Xataka | The new luxury is that the mansions go unnoticed and sustainable: that’s why they cost 10 million euros In Xataka | The most expensive mansion in the world costs $ 1 billion: Citadel’s CEO is being built in Florida Image | Unspash (Linus Belanger, Linus Belanger, Jakub żerdzicki)

Europe is so desperate for housing that there are already people asking for rehabilitating factories like houses

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More than the progress of the economy, unemployment, emigration, politics or corruption. If there is something really We are worried To the Spaniards, something that takes away our dream, is housing. The CIS says it in Your latest barometerbut it is something that is perceived in the street: only a few weeks ago tens of thousands of people mobilized in almost 40 cities to show their discontent anger precisely because of the escalation in the price of houses, with rentals Beating records and the cost of m2 Nailing with the values ​​prior to the real estate bubble. With that backdrop (which It is not exclusive from Spain) There are those Believe That part of the solution to the housing crisis is right before our noses: the thousands of square kilometers of unused industrial areas distributed throughout Europe. “Urban Regeneration”. Proof that housing worries, in Spain (and many other countries), is that every time studies, comparative and statistics are published that either put the thermometer to the sector or venture to propose solutions. Does A few months It was done by the Systemiq company with a report that insists again and again on the potential of the “Urban Regeneration” To alleviate, at least in part, the housing problem of Europe, where prices in cities They have climbed until hinder access to homes. And what does “urban regeneration” understand? “Transforming infra -utilized land and obsolete buildings into compact and dynamic places to live, work and do business,” he explains The study Before stressing that it is “a strategy that could relieve the housing crisis in Europe and at the same time revitalize its cities.” That last nuance is not accidental. The company recalls that it grows above all the interest in housing located in urban environments, which leaves cities in the face of the challenge of finding the ground with which to cover the demand. A fact: 19,000 km2. Systemiq’s study is just that: a study. With their biases, strengths and weaknesses. However, it is interesting to approach an approach that over the last years It has sounded In the sector and even big promotions residential And it is among other things because it provides some illustrative figures. According to the authors of the report, in Europe there are approximately 19,000 square kilometers of “abandoned industrial land” and between 200 and 300 km2 of offices “available for conversion in attractive areas”. All this, the firm recalls, while in Europe you seek precisely new developments. “The demand for housing in dynamic cities is booming, just like that of mixed and alternative spaces, such as coexistence developments or new types of work spaces,” The technicians add of system. Enough for more than 10 years. “The appropriate locations for urban regeneration could satisfy most, if not the totality, the demand for new buildings provided in Europe for the next 10-15 years and would save cities about 20% of the planned infrastructure costs,” The report abounds. Its authors even throw themselves with some calculations and projections in the future, although without specifying how they get to them. In his opinion, “a fraction” of that wide area, around 300 square kilometers of empty offices and commercial premises and between 1,000 and 1,500 km2 of “vacant lots”, to meet the European land demand for a decade or decade and a half view. The key would go to allocate to spaces for housing and commerce. The report It also estimates that during that same period a total considerable investment would be reached that would be around four or six billion. Is it a new proposal? No. The country appointment For example, a 2024 JLL manager report that identifies 20,529 km2 of wasteland in Europe that could be used for that purpose. “His analysis suggests that the re -urbanization of a small part of those lands in the region would create between 713,750 and 1,247,500 new homes,” Comment to the newspaper Laura Nolier, from the Ginkgo firm. A few years ago the organization Habitat for Humanity He also performed A study in which he explored the potential of empty spaces to face the lack of housing. As remember The Archdily Specialized Website, Habitat technicians chose the United Kingdom as a pilot study area. His study ended up locating about 7,000 commercial and businesses in England, Scotland, Wales that were in the hands of local authorities and carried out without use for more than a year. Only empty office spaces could be transformed, according to their calculations, in more than 16,000 residential units. Commercial disuse spaces would give for 3,500. Beyond the theory. Not everything is theory. There are public administrations and promoters who have already opted to give a second life to empty buildings. In recent years, both inside as Out of Spain They have converted into homes office buildings, quarters, temples, Factories of different guys either Wineries that they have ended up reopening like luxury residences. Any initiative has even gone further by raising the transformation of an entire industrial zone into a residential area, as is the case In Vallecas PuenteMadrid. Are all advantages? No. Urban regeneration projects or give a second chance to industrial spaces and offices for homes to also face challenges. Both urban and architectural, normative and bureaucratic. In fact there are projects that directly They stay along the way and others end with a questionable result, such as Terminus Housein Essex, a rehabilitated office building as a block of floors. For frustration of his tenants, he ended up with tiny apartments and away from basic services. Opportunities and challenges. “A change in land use may imply urban impact studies, municipal approval and compliance with specific regulations. Depending on the city, there may be restrictions,” warns in The country Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, of the promoter Corporation Vía Agora. To those challenges are added the licenses, certifications, the need for technical studies, the possibility that the soil is contaminated and, the case, the adaptation of constructions that were originally thought for residential use. Another key … Read more

Spain is importing a US tactic to empty deceased houses: turn them into temporary markets

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Surely you will have seen dozens of times in American movies. Suddenly someone wants to empty a house for whatever reason, because it was the apartment of a freshly deceased relative, because he has to move or simply because he has realized that he has the attic upso organize a market in the house itself. It even has a name: Estate goes out. A kind of Wallapop face -to -face and dedicated to a single home in which everything is sold, from cutlery to shoes, passing through coats, furniture, pictures or crockery. More and more that image of the markets in houses is ceasing to be a Hollywood resource to become common (and helpful) in Spain. A house (and a market). Among vintage stores, normal rakes and households there is an intermediate point: “Housing markets”. His name says it all. They are houses that open to the public so that people can happen, browse what is inside and then decide if they want to take any of their objects, previously inventoried, priced in detail and labeled. From some golf sticks to a coat, a closet, a table, a lamp, a game of cups or skis. In the houses there is everything. In the Estate goes outalso. In fact, it is common to see in the US movies a variant that usually celebrated outdoors and organize the owners of the house with all kinds of articles rescued from the attic, the so -called Garage Saleseither Yard salts. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Objective: Empty houses. The goal is double: empty a house and find new owner to old objects. All of that of course prior payment of the amounts in which each article has been applied. There is no A single reason by which the emptying of a house is reached, although a usual reason is that its owner has died or will no longer live in it because it moves. When that happens, you have to think what to do with everything you leave behind, from furniture to clothes. After all, if any houses are deposits in which, over the years, memories and objects accumulate. With the former you can load, bad that. For the latter, something that does not always abound is needed: space. Question of moving … or deceased. “There is everything here. People who want to empty the floor because he inherited it from their grandparents and do not want to see their belongings in a garbage can and cases like this, which is a rental floor and its tenants must leave it,” I lightened recently to Commerce Marola Argüelles, from Vintage ordera firm of Home Market. While talking with the newspaper he organized a market in a house in Oviedo. “There are many reasons to empty a house”, Another company in the sector coincides. “From a trip for work to the other side of the world, to more sad reasons such as the houses of our elders or after a change in our family structure such as moving, a retirement or a divorce.” But are they celebrated in Spain? And so much. It comes with giving A lap By Google and Bavers the local press to find a good handful of examples. Throughout the last months, markets have been organized in homes in Oviedo, Lion, Seville either Madrid. And that to quote only a handful of cases. In the center of the capital, on Bravo Murillo Street, one was held in autumn that helps to better understand how and why this kind of Wallapops face -to -face and thematic. On that occasion the empty apartment, He recounts The SpanishHe had served a marriage. He already died. She, a woman over 90, lives in a residence. The goal of the market was to give a second life to the objects they had left on the floor: furniture, figures, garments, a sofa … the appointment attracted dozens of people, from curious to antiquers or an art seller to which to observe the objects in their environment. “It is not the same as in a market.” Who organizes it? Professionals who have found in the Estate goes out A business to explode in Spain. An example is Clear spacewhich describes his work of Simple form: “We empty your house, but before we take care of whatever you do not want, giving a second life and receiving money in return.” A few months ago the firm’s driver, Blanca de Carlos explained to The confidential that became familiar with this kind of markets in houses during the time he lived in the US. Already back to Spain and after the death of his father he realized the advantages that the service would have. Your signature is not the only one dedicated to emptying houses and organizing markets. Order architecture, The circular Market, Vintage order, Myhome, Antiquae, Antico Sevilla Interiors… They are businesses with a similar approach and that facilitate the emptying of houses and the organization of markets in the house itself to prevent those furniture, clothing and objects in general that they no longer want (or can have) their owners end up in a container, the clean point or a storage point. The art of emptying. The details of each case may vary, but it is common for emptying work and markets Visit system Concerted to avoid agglomerations, the pieces are recorded and tasan and the company that manages the appointments is carried A percentage of all sales. The objective, companies recognize, is that there is “nothing without selling” in homes, so the prices that can usually be affordable. Images | LEUMAS_1974 (Flickr) and Wikipedia In Xataka | In the United States there is a new type of party that already moves crowds and has a waiting list: those who read

A single island houses 70% of the US military bases in Japan. There is a weight reason for not to come out: China

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At the end of January, in the Japan islands closest to Taiwan, Many places began to evacuate the area. The action was part of a series of drills that have been intensified in the last two years preparing for “the worst”, understanding this as An armed conflict between China and Taiwan. In fact, the most important island of Okinawa prefecture has a fact that attests to tension in the area: there is no other place in Japan with such a number of soldiers in the United States, and they have been there since World War II. Okinawa: trapped between two powers. For more than a century, Okinawa has been a territory in disputemarked by the conflict between Japan, the United States and China. Its history, which goes from being an independent kingdom to become a battlefield and military baseit reflects the weight of geopolitical decisions about the lives of its inhabitants. The island was originally The kingdom of Ryukyuan independent state that maintained tax relations with both Imperial China and with the Japanese domain of Satsuma. However, in the 1870s, Japan attached the archipelagoestablishing its control over the island. During World War II, Okinawa was the stage of One of the bloodiest battlesused as a shield to prevent US troops from reaching the main islands of Japan. After the war, instead of being returned to Japanese sovereignty, Okinawa was under control of the United Statesbecoming a military strategic point. Already in 1972, after 27 years of American occupation, The island was finally returned to Japan. However, the US military presence never disappeared. In fact, Okinawa houses 70 % of US military bases in Japandespite representing only 0.6 % of the national territory. It is estimated that there are 80,000 Americans on the island, of which 30,000 are uniformed military. The “slow” withdrawn. This week had the New York Times that the departure of those thousands of American marines has already begun, more or less, although With a delay of more than 20 years Regarding the original calendar. Before Christmas, a 105 Marines contingent that would normally have been sent to the island He was redirected to the new Camp Blaz base in Guam. This small movement marked the first trimming of military personnel in Okinawa within the agreement between Washington and Tokyo to reduce that US military presence on the island that goes back to World War II. According to the pact, 9,000 marines (almost half of the troops on the island) should be relocated at some point. However, due to the construction of replacement bases, its exit could take more than a decade to complete. United States maneuvers on the island A discontent agreement. Negotiation for the reduction of military presence It began in 1995when the case of three American soldiers who raped an okinawense girl caused massive protests on the island. This led to the United States and Japan They will agree to relieve the military load on Okinawa. As? In essence, by closing The Fuutema Air Base and the construction of a new installation in the north of the island. The first plan, signed in 1996, established a period of five to seven years for relocation, but almost three decades of that agreement, the original base remains operational and the new landing track is still 12 years after being completed. Geopolitics: the brake on the reduction. In any case, the delay in the withdrawal of US troops is due, in large part, to the growing military presence of China in the region. Recently and As we countthe Japan Ministry of Defense reported that Four Chinese warships sailed between Okinawa and a nearby islandincreasing concern in Tokyo and Washington about security in the Western Pacific. The rise of China, together with the threat of North Korea and tensions in Taiwan, has changed strategic dynamics. In fact, the times told that many in Tokyo and Washington wonder If they should really reduce the presence of marines in Okinawaespecially when the island is within the range of Chinese missiles and would be a key point in any conflict in the region. China’s hat. Although historically Okinawa maintained commercial relations with China, Beijing’s current influence on the region is seen with concern for many Japanese. The tensions between China and Japan by the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands They have fueled the fear that Okinawa can become a conflict point Between both countries. An uncertain future. For all this, and despite international pressure, the transfer of the Marines progress to slow pacealmost testimonial. Japan, meanwhile, has chosen to keep the status quoinvesting in the modernization of existing bases instead of accelerating relocation. In this regard, Camp Schwab, in the north of the island, will be the new home of the Marines relocated from Fuhenma. The construction includes an area of ​​land five times greater than the pentagon to house landing clues and hangars. It does not seem, therefore, that you think too much about an exit. For its part, Camp Fosterin the southern part of Okinawa, it is being remodeled with new barracks, schools and homes, consolidating the military presence in that area. Japan spends According to the New York Times1.5 billion dollars a year in the construction of new facilities, in addition to the 2.8 billion dollars already allocated to Camp Blaz base in Guamwhich, as we said, will house a part of the displaced marines of Okinawa. Yet, Pentagon still does not provide a clear calendar For relocation. And here we return to the exit box: in case of conflict in Asia, LTo Guam’s remoteness could represent a strategic problemsince the Marines would have to return to Japan crossing a combat zone. Thus, what is clear is that the island remains a key piece on the Indo-Pacific board, trapped between the strategic needs of the United States and Japan, and the own aspirations of autonomy of its population. Image | US Indo-Pacifi In Xataka | The Japan islands closest to Taiwan have begun to evacuate the area. They have been preparing … Read more

For years the prefabricated houses were the ugly duckling of the house. Now the Basque Country believes that they are its salvation

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The Basque Country wants more housing. And it has A plan to get it: Bet on prefabricated constructionsa model that over the last years has gained weight in the real estate sector but that – that –They recognize From Euskadi – it loads with the negative image that still has the “prefabricated” among part of the population. To clear doubts, knock down prejudices and above all make clear its institutional commitment, last week the Basque Government presented its’White Book of industrialized social housing ‘. “It is essential to knock down biases,” claims. Housing deficit. The Basque Country needs more housing. Or so those responsible, which recently estimated that the current construction rhythm is insufficient and the region loads with a deficit of some 1,500 annual houses. The problem is not only that gap between the creation of new homes and demand, but to what extent it influences a market that, according to idealist data, has seen how in a matter of only one year the prices of sale rose almost 7% and those of rent 8% In Euskadi. … and “structural deficits”. A few days ago, speaking precisely about the real estate market, the Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda of the Basque Government, Denis Itxaso, warned of another very related “deficit”: the one that drags the industry itself. “The construction sector has structural deficits, such as lack of labor, challenges related to training and professionalization and a higher speed in construction processes,” he reflected. The relationship between the two problems is evident: the lags in the industry affect their ability to increase the offer and satisfy a residential market. “The challenge that represents the scarcity and housing failure requires balance the market with the greatest offer,” The regional head advocates of urban agenda. In his opinion, Euskadi must endow “his own strategy.” And precisely for that reason a few days ago the Executive presented A document: his ‘White Paper of Industrialized Social Housing’. What strategy is that? The book and the act during which it was presented – in which Itxaso and the director of the Public Society for Protected Housing Promotion participated Visesaamong other positions related to the sector – served to give a track of where the Basque Country wants to go. His government looks with special interest the “industrialized” buildingsreal estate that are created with previously manufactured pieces in a ship instead of following the traditional method of lifting walls and forged in situ. “The way to reduce deadlines”. During The presentation From the manual, held in Bilbao, there was talk of sustainability, digitalization, security, improvement of working conditions, inclusion and also a formula that allows the sector to “respond to the housing and labor deficit”. “The ‘White Book’ includes examples of good architectural practices, highlighting how the use of industrial processes should be the way to reduce execution deadlines and minimize environmental impact,” the Basque Executive ends in Your statement About the act. Along the same lines, the Visesa director pointed out that industrialization is “fundamental” to build “quality housing”. Issue of challenges. Not everything is facilities and clear path in the future of prefabricated housing. During the event there was also talk of “the administrative, financial and regulations barriers that still persist” and the important role that the public administration plays, especially “assuming the role” of promoter. However, if there was a challenge for industrialization in which the accent was accent in Bilbao was another, one other than bureaucratic obstacles or difficulties in getting credit: the image. Perhaps more modular houses are seen today than a couple of decades ago, but the big question, especially if we want to strengthen its weight in the sector, is … What concept do we have of them? “One of the main challenges is citizen perception towards what is considered ‘prefabricated’, often associated with lower quality or provisionality,” admits the Basque Government in Your statementin which curiously only that word is used once: “prefabricated.” Itxaso himself assumes that he “demolish preconceived biases and ideas.” Of the theory … To practice, there is. Visesa He spoke too of the development of about thirty protected homes in Sopela-Asu, in the province of Vizcaya, using precisely “industrialized construction processes.” In the sector, prefabricated, industrialized, modular solutions are also expanding time … and although in Spain they still suppose A modest part of the sector, in other nations, such as the Netherlands, Germany or the United Kingdom, they have managed to get a respectable presence. Some construction companies trust that in a few years industrialization is a significant part of their income. In their favor they do not only have the impulse of the Basque Government, which for another part has already seen On other occasions His commitment to industrialized homes. At the state level the PP has been in favor also to promote this kind of buildings to stop The housing problem In Spain, following the example of countries Like Australia. Images | Wikipedia and Aedas Homes In Xataka | The prefabricated houses have always been infravy. Now many governments are driving them in front of the crisis

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