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

April 16, 2025 by usatoday24

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

March 2, 2025 by usatoday24

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

February 22, 2025 by usatoday24

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

February 5, 2025 by usatoday24

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

Fry taxes to empty houses and second residences

January 28, 2025 by usatoday24

Madrid or Barcelona are not the only major European metropolis that They look with trouble his Residential Market. In London they deal with some triggered rentals (some study place the average price in almost 40 pounds by m2), the pressure exerted by the foreign investors and tens of thousands of empty properties. Already in 2023 his mayor, Sadiq Khan, talked about “scandal” which supposes that in the British capital there were 30,000 houses and floors without use while its inhabitants faced “a housing crisis”. To solve it, in London they have Moved file Using one of its great tools: the tax burden. Retouching taxes. The news The newspaper progresses The Telegraph: The authorities of Wandswortha district of London, have decided to update their taxes penalizing those owners who have empty houses and apartments in their territory. To be more precise, to the municipal rates of homes that remain more than a year empty and without furnished will be applied A 100% surcharge. The measure will be adopted from April and confirms the effort of the British authorities for taking the properties that are now unoccupied to the rent or sale market. Until now, in Wandsworth, disuse housing already faced a similar surcharge, but as long as they remained empty for more than two years, a ‘grace period’ that will now be cut in half. More empty time, more paid. A 100% increase is considerable, but those who maintain disused properties for longer will risk much larger penalties. According to The Telepraghthe owners of houses that have been empty for five years will see how that percentage rises to 200% and in the case of the properties that are not used for a decade, it will further shoot, to 300%. The rates will also be more burdensome for those who have second homes, furnished properties but are not used as the main home. In those cases, twice the corresponding municipal tax will be charged, although the standard contemplates Some exceptions. For example, if the owners are conditioned by their work, as is the case with the personnel of the Armed Forces or the caregivers. What is the goal? To tackle the problems of the residential market, which in the case of Wandsworth is also found with particularly low taxes. The British press Precise That with the measure the authorities seek to penalize the abandonment of properties, encourage their owners to sell or rent empty houses and dissuade foreign investors who are made with homes they do not use. “The objective is to ensure that the homes are inhabited or rented. Many people want to live and Wandsworth and we want to use all the powers we can to increase the number of homes in which people can reside,” Aydin Dkerdem explainsLabor councilor. In his opinion, it could even be discussed whether to double the municipal tax does not imply a fiscal burden “high enough. Are there so unoccupied houses? In May 2023 the office of the mayor of London He spoke of around “30,000 empty homes for a long time” and required that the districts of Kensignton and Chelsea presented a particularly high concentration. Only there would be about 1,600 properties with a total value that exceeded 2.2 billion pounds. In Westminster there were around 1,100 homes with a value that, in the market two years ago, was around 1.7 billion pounds. Is there more data? Yes. Action on empty homes assures That the total number of unoccupied housing is much higher and among them includes even social properties, “emptied real estate to allow their demolition and replacement for new houses in ‘neighborhood regeneration’ programs. The Telegraph Precise That with the data of the 33 local authorities of the city on the table, we can speak of around 36,200 empty properties for a long time. And slide another figure to older interests: only in Wandsworth the number of second residences has increased exponentially since 2023, going from just under 600 throughout the district to touch the 1,400 today. “It’s a scandal”. In addition to breaking up data, in mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has openly complained about the number of properties unused in a city that has seen how their rentals sneaked into the top of The rankings European prices, with clearly forecasts up. “It is a scandal that so many houses so necessary in London are empty in the midst of a housing crisis,” regretted The councilor in 2023 before claiming specific measures and “the return of powers” so that the municipalities can act via taxes. “Not only would it deter absent international investors, but would release homes throughout the capital for Londoners,” I cried. It’s not The first time that the local United Kingdom authorities ask for greater margin to act before empty floors. In fact, the new leveling and regeneration law allows Since 2024 Collect more taxes on unemployed house owners for more than a year. Beyond Wandsworth … and the United Kingdom. Empty homes are not an exclusive problem of London. Action on Empy Homes estimates that in the whole of England they are counted by hundreds of thousands And not a few of them, according to the agency’s estimates, have been in that state for a long time. Hence Wandsworth has not been the only one to move. In Cornwall They have also raised apply severe surcharges to second residences, a measure that has also been put on the table In Wales u Oxford. The newspaper Standard He quotes policies on the same line in Westminster and Hackney, which announced Just a year ago: “Any house that has remained empty for at least 12 months will be charged twice the usual tax rate.” Until then the surcharge was limited to disused houses for more than 24 months. The United Kingdom is not the only one that has moved to loosen the tension of the residential market with the help of unemployed homes. In Brussels, with thousands of empty apartments, they have considered going beyond and … Read more

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