The offices of Jordi Pujol and Artur Mas in the former headquarters of Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya have changed their use: they will house a 469 m2 luxury penthouse, with a private pool and views of Passeig de Gràcia, which will be enjoyed by those who can pay the most. of 10 million euros requested by Platinum Estates, a Hong Kong investment group of the Mohinani family that bought the property in 2015.
The building, which will finish work at the end of next year, has been transformed by the AGAS architecture studio into a complex of 19 luxury apartments, which the real estate agency Lucas Fox markets with prices starting at one million euros.
“Luxury housing is going through a sweet moment in Barcelona: there is very little supply and a lot of demand,” says Sergi Pérez, director of new construction at the real estate agency, who recalls that the project at 331 Còrsega Street was one of the last projects it obtained. building permit in Barcelona before the City Council forced 30% of the apartments in new developments to be allocated to social housing and residential construction was paralyzed.
Pérez points out that due to its location, next to Diagonal and Passeig de Gràcia, and the common areas of the property (garden, sauna, spa and community gym), potential buyers will be senior managers or Spanish professionals who wish to live close to their office headquarters, as recently enriched businessmen, mainly in the technology sector.
And a good part, predictably, are foreigners, who are the ones who already buy 60% of the luxury homes sold by the real estate agency in Barcelona. Pérez points out that 52% of its international buyers are from EU countries and another 19% are from non-EU European countries, followed by the Americans, who so far this year have made 12% of the purchases, and are the ones who more have risen due to the strength of the dollar.
“Barcelona attracts many foreign buyers because of its quality of life,” says Pérez, who points out that the possibility of acquiring a residence permit, with the Golden Visa, which 5% of his foreign clients use, also plays a role. Pérez predicts that the city will also gain attractiveness next year among Spanish buyers due to the visibility that events such as the Copa América or the confirmation of the Mobile World Congress will give it.
Luxury housing, in addition, has been immune to the crisis that has caused the rise in rates and reduced apartment sales: Lucas Fox, for example, has maintained sales and prices have continued to rise: 5% since January , with homes that on average cost between 0.5 and 1 million euros
“The rise in the interest rate that makes mortgages more expensive has little impact on these buyers,” says Pérez. Thus, 57.5% of its sales are paid in cash, when a year ago that percentage was only 53%.
Lucas Fox, a real estate company founded in 2005 by Alexander Vaughan and Stijn Teeuwen, is the leader in the sale of luxury homes in Spain, with 35 offices and a presence in Andorra and Portugal. Although real estate agencies that specialize in high-end homes are proliferating in the sector, Pérez maintains that “we are now marketing more than 600 homes and in terms of volume, geographic coverage and specialization we have no competition.”
