- On January 12, the luxury real estate company held a unique event in Barcelona to present its Passeig de Gràcia office.
- Kensington will focus its activity on the innovative model of owner representation.
- EURIBOR will reach at least 4%, transactions will be reduced by 12% and prices by 3 to 4%.
BARCELONA 19/01/2023 – The Barcelona branch of the Swiss multinational, Kensington Finest Properties International, celebrated the opening of its first physical office in Barcelona on January 12 at the H10 Art Gallery hotel with a successful event that brought together more than 150 people. Among them, clients and owners of high standing properties in the city, real estate professionals and art lovers.
The celebration, defined as a real estate finissage that fused art, real estate and networking, also included a real estate conference by Dr. Gonzalo Bernardos, Professor of Economics at the University of Barcelona. In his presentation on the current context of real estate recession, Bernardos made the following forecast: “The ECB will raise its benchmark interest rate at its next three meetings: The first in February, when it will reach 3%, in March to 3.25% and in May to 3.5%. Since the one-year EURIBOR usually has a premium over the ECB rate, it will reach at least 4%. Given the situation that the market will go through, it is expected that, over the course of this year, transactions will be reduced by 12% and prices will fall by 3 to 4%”.
Gonzalo Bernardos Real Estate Conference.
With Oriol Canal as CEO and Master Franchisee of Kensington Barcelona and Catalunya, the international real estate company specialized in the high standing sector now has its own office in Passeig de Gràcia 78. In addition to the real estate agency and master franchise of Catalunya, the delegation has the art division Kensington Art. It is the first company in the real estate sector in Barcelona that has its own art platform focused on collectors and investors in this area. For this reason, the brand wanted to show its added value by inviting attendees to an exhibition of paintings by Isabelle de Kergal on the city’s most representative monuments.
Team of consultants and listing managers from Kensington Barcelona and Catalunya.
Kensington Barcelona focuses its activity on the innovative model of owner representation. In this sense, the real estate agency offers a comprehensive service that defends the interests of the owner when selling their property through a team of managers specialized by neighborhood. In addition to this group of listing managers, the company has consultants focused on the sale of the property and on the buyer’s service to avoid creating a conflict of interests between the parties. According to Oriol Canal, “this representation model is the one that works in more advanced real estate markets, such as the United States, where the same consultant is prohibited from representing both parties (buyer and seller) in the same transaction, to avoid a conflict of interest. If this rule is not respected, the agent runs the risk of having his or her real estate license withdrawn“. In Barcelona, Kensington is the only international luxury real estate company with this segregation of duties.
Networking of the attendees
Currently Kensington Finest Properties Barcelona – Catalunya already has a team of 20 people and plans to double it during this year 2023. In addition, with the master franchise of Catalunya and Andorra, Canal plans to open 10 offices in the next 5 years in premium areas such as Sant Cugat, Sant Just Desvern, Gavà Mar, Sitges, el Maresme, la Costra Brava, la Cerdanya or la Vall d’Aran.
ABOUT KENSINGTON BARCELONA:
Kensington Barcelona is part of the Swiss real estate company Kensington Finest Properties International, specialized in the commercialization of quality real estate in the best locations, with strong presence in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Dubai. The group was born in 1998 in Mallorca as a boutique agency and since 2011 has grown internationally through franchise licensing. In Spain it currently has twelve offices in the Balearic Islands, five on the Spanish mainland and one in the Canary Islands. It arrived in the Catalan capital in September 2022 thanks to Oriol Canal, former general manager of the real estate company Engel & Völkers Barcelona and currently CEO of Kensington Barcelona and Master Franchisee of Kensington Catalunya.
In addition to the residential real estate division, the Kensington Group includes a commercial property division, a mergers and acquisitions company, an art company and a family office. Kensington is also publisher of the lifestyle magazine ‘OnLocation‘, has its own real estate training academy, a division specializing in new build projects and organizes its own Polo tournament, the Kensington Polo Trophy.
For more information:
comunicacion-catalunya@kensington-international.com
93 595 77 44
Passeig de Gràcia 78, 2º 2ª A, Barcelona