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

Melissa García-Lamarca

doi:10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034

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

Melissa García-Lamarca

Autonomous University of Barcelona

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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 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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1407-1426
Number of pages	20
Journal	Housing Studies
Volume	36
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034
Publication status	Published - 2021
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

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.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Human Geography

Free keywords

financialisation
inequality
REITs
rental sector
Spain

Access to Document

10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034

Cite this

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

abstract = "This paper explores the development of residential Spanish Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs, known as SOCIMIs) in the country{\textquoteright}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{\textquoteright}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-{\`a}-vis urban housing access, affordability and inequalities.",

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author = "Melissa Garc{\'i}a-Lamarca",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 678034) and through a Juan de la Cierva Formaci{\'o}n postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Spanish government (Ministerio de Econom{\'i}a, 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: {\textcopyright} 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group.",

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doi = "10.1080/02673037.2020.1769034",

language = "English",

volume = "36",

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PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - 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.

AB - 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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ER -

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Free keywords

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