Spain Regions Race to Sell $1.3 Billion Property This Year
(Adds CBRE researcher comment in ninth paragraph.)
Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Catalonia and Andalusia, two of Spain’s largest and most indebted regions, are trying to sell $1.3 billion of real estate by the end of the year as the country tries to slash its budget deficit and keep borrowing costs from ballooning.
“We put the cream of the crop in the portfolios to ensure the sales are completed,” Jacint Boixasa, director of assets for Catalonia, said in interview in Barcelona. “Our target is to sell 550 million euros ($742 million) of real estate by year- end, which is relatively little time.”
Spanish regions, which control more than a third of public spending, will play a pivotal role in the nation’s effort to cut its deficit to 6 percent of gross domestic product this year from 9.2 percent in 2010 as the country tries to avoid following Greece, Ireland and Portugal in requiring a bailout. In August, Moody’s Investors Service put Spain’s credit rating on review for a downgrade, citing the worsening finances in the regions.
“It's an interesting property, and people tend to remember it,” Jason Pucci, COO of Woodbridge, NJ-based Kislak, says. Built by Francisco & Jacobus in the 1800s, the building reflects the Mission and Spanish Revival architectural styles, and features