MADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - Spanish real estate company Afirma (AFRA.MC) said on Monday it was in the process of signing agreements with creditor banks to refinance around 1.4 billion euros ($1.96 billion) of debt.
"The chairman told the AGM that the debt refinancing agreement has started to be signed," a spokesman for the company said. (Reporting by Ben Harding; editing by Sarah Morris)
It may be that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and actress Angelina Jolie know a thing or too about real estate investment as both are reported to be seeking property in Portugal, but they are not the only ones and an increasing number of inquiries are helping to revive the market in a country that has often been ignored in favour of its more gregarious and flashy neighbour, Spain.
But Portugal has never been as brash as Spain and certainly never seen the huge number of apartment and villas that have become one of the causes of the property crash in Spain.
Golf has always been, and still is, one of the big draws of Portugal. It has built up a niche market, according to analysts, and although there are still second home buyers who seek out renovations.......
Spanish real-estate company Metrovacesa SA (MVC.MC) said Wednesday it has decided not to go ahead with a 2007 separation agreement and therefore keep its 26.9% stake in France's Gecina (GFC.FR) as well as its five representatives in the French company's boardroom.
In a filing to the Spanish stock market regulator, the company said that after studying the current situation it has decided "that it's not possible to complete the agreement."
Under a 2007 separation accord, the company's management had agreed to swap its stake in Gecina for real-estate assets in France. In April, Gecina said such an agreement would be against the company's best interests and declared the deal void.
They are popular in Florida and Arizona, but now the bargain property hunter bus has reached Europe with a club offering tours of distressed real estate on the Costa del Sol.
On offer are luxury properties on new developments with discounts of up to 50%. Organisers Circulo Financiero Internacional said all featured properties amount to real bargains.
The tour is free for members of the CFI investors club and €20 for non members. 'The market is stagnating and developers need to shift new homes that in some cases they have built and paid for or are being repossessed or belong to the banks,' said a spokesman.
He said that discounts of between 20 and 40% are common and some are even down by 50% on previous asking prices.
