The General Council of the Association of Real Estate Agents of Spain (COAPI by its acronym in Spanish) has ruled out mass real estate agency closures due to the new Housing Law or a "price war" by real estate agents to attract rental transactions.
The law, which has been in force for a month, introduced a series of measures to regulate the real estate market and is already directly affecting how the residential sector works. One of these approved measures is to charge the landlord instead of the tenant for real estate professionals' fees for intermediary services provided in rental transactions.
In a statement, the official body has stated that it has not ruled out that some agencies that only worked in the rental sector will have to change their business model from now on and even enter into the buying and selling segment due to the changes in the Housing Law. However, they have assured that the sector knows how to adapt "quickly" to the environment and the circumstances.
"Turning to a real estate professional can undoubtedly make this task much easier for tenants, helping them find a home that meets their expectations, needs and budget," concluded the General Council of the COAPI.
The official body has stressed that, from now on, estate agents will have to offer more and better services, be more professional and focus on the legally required aspects of their activity, both in buying and selling and rental transactions.
The spokesperson of the General Council and chair of Castellon's Coapi, Francisco Nomdedeu, stressed that "now more than ever," homeowners will need a professional service to comply with current legislation in aspects relating to information on the property, such as land registry data, information on surface area and age, energy efficiency certificates, occupancy certificates, etc.
According to Nomdedeu, landlords may struggle to prepare this paperwork on their own, which is why they are likely to opt for hiring a comprehensive service to process the rental agreement: taking photos of the property, publishing advertisements, producing a commercial strategy and arranging viewings, intermediation, negotiation, bureaucratic procedures and preparing the documentation needed for signing the contract.
Real estate agents also believe that landlords will need professionals to find tenants, given the "considerable drop" in the rental offer on real estate portals, meaning that tenants will find it harder to find a property to rent.
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