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Real estate crisis resolution regimes and residential REITs : emerging socio-spatial impacts in Barcelona

García-Lamarca, Melissa LU orcid (2021) In Housing Studies 36(9). p.1407-1426
Abstract

This paper explores the development of residential Spanish Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs, known as SOCIMIs) in the country’s growing rental market, unpacking their connection with the resolution of the 2008 financial crisis. Focus is placed on the emerging socio-spatial dynamics of one of the country’s first large-scale residential SOCIMIs in Barcelona from the global private equity firm Blackstone. I argue that SOCIMIs manifest a housing regime enabled by the Spanish state and EU backed post-crisis management of toxic real estate assets, a model built from the dispossession underlying hundreds of thousands of foreclosures and evictions and the public financial system bail out. Mapping 110 Blackstone SOCIMI properties in... (More)

This paper explores the development of residential Spanish Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs, known as SOCIMIs) in the country’s growing rental market, unpacking their connection with the resolution of the 2008 financial crisis. Focus is placed on the emerging socio-spatial dynamics of one of the country’s first large-scale residential SOCIMIs in Barcelona from the global private equity firm Blackstone. I argue that SOCIMIs manifest a housing regime enabled by the Spanish state and EU backed post-crisis management of toxic real estate assets, a model built from the dispossession underlying hundreds of thousands of foreclosures and evictions and the public financial system bail out. Mapping 110 Blackstone SOCIMI properties in Barcelona in relation to neighbourhood rental prices and findings from a social media group created by Blackstone SOCIMI tenants suggests that these new residential REITs reinforce socio-spatial urban inequality and dispossession. The discussion and conclusions unpack the implications of these findings vis-à-vis urban housing access, affordability and inequalities.

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author
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
financialisation, inequality, REITs, rental sector, Spain
in
Housing Studies
volume
36
issue
9
pages
20 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85086155192
ISSN
0267-3037
DOI
10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Funding Information: This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 678034) and through a Juan de la Cierva Formación postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Spanish government (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad). I thank James Connolly, whose spatial analysis expertise and guidance was invaluable in making this paper possible, and Helen Cole and Margarita Triguero-Mas for their support with statistical analysis doubts. Thanks also to participants at the NYU Florence Finance, Crisis, and the City conference where a preliminary version of this work was presented, especially to Kathe Newman's insightful comments as a discussant. I'm grateful for the thorough feedback on earlier versions of this article from Mara Ferreri, Lorenzo Vidal and the anonymous Housing Studies reviewers, as well as to the Housing Studies editor for their editorial aid and guidance. Any remaining errors are my own. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
id
defb9163-d9c9-421b-a0fd-0c2e47baec63
date added to LUP
2024-02-06 14:06:59
date last changed
2024-02-07 09:38:21
@article{defb9163-d9c9-421b-a0fd-0c2e47baec63,
  abstract     = {{<p>This paper explores the development of residential Spanish Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs, known as SOCIMIs) in the country’s growing rental market, unpacking their connection with the resolution of the 2008 financial crisis. Focus is placed on the emerging socio-spatial dynamics of one of the country’s first large-scale residential SOCIMIs in Barcelona from the global private equity firm Blackstone. I argue that SOCIMIs manifest a housing regime enabled by the Spanish state and EU backed post-crisis management of toxic real estate assets, a model built from the dispossession underlying hundreds of thousands of foreclosures and evictions and the public financial system bail out. Mapping 110 Blackstone SOCIMI properties in Barcelona in relation to neighbourhood rental prices and findings from a social media group created by Blackstone SOCIMI tenants suggests that these new residential REITs reinforce socio-spatial urban inequality and dispossession. The discussion and conclusions unpack the implications of these findings vis-à-vis urban housing access, affordability and inequalities.</p>}},
  author       = {{García-Lamarca, Melissa}},
  issn         = {{0267-3037}},
  keywords     = {{financialisation; inequality; REITs; rental sector; Spain}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1407--1426}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Housing Studies}},
  title        = {{Real estate crisis resolution regimes and residential REITs : emerging socio-spatial impacts in Barcelona}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}