The International Construction Week puts the spotlight on "home staging" to revitalise the real estate sector
At the 1st National Forum of Home Staging and Real Estate Marketing, Experts highlight the importance of this activity to boost the market and offer new opportunities
The International Construction Week, held from 5 to 8 November at IFEMA MADRID, today hosted the 1st National Forum on Home Staging and Real Estate Marketing. At the event various experts from the sector highlighted this practice as an activity that can revolutionise the real estate sector, representing the best possible investment that the seller of a property can make. The International Construction Week includes the fairs CONSTRUTEC, VETECO, SMART DOORS and PISCIMAD and it is held at the same time as MATELEC.
The Home Staging and Real Estate Marketing Forum is the largest congress held to date in Spain on this real estate marketing technique. It has brought together over 20 national and international experts in the field and more than 300 real estate professionals from all over Spain. It kicked off with Beatriz Arroyo, the home stager and CEO of Ponle Alma a Tu Casa, encouraging the professionals present to "extend this practice as it can revolutionise the real estate sector and represents the best possible investment that a home seller can make". What's more, she announced the creation of the first white paper in Spain on Home Staging.
Then, the chairman of the Governing Board of IFEMA MADRID and chairman of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, Ángel Asensio, emphasised "the great potential of this forum, which represents an adaptation to new times and methodologies to provide greater added value to housing". He also stressed that "this event is particularly relevant in an area such as housing, which has become the main concern of citizens, especially young people".
In turn, José María García Gómez, the Deputy Regional Minister for Housing, Transport and Infrastructures of the Community of Madrid, said that "this forum is a reflection of the strength of the real estate sector, whose professionals have undergone great transformation in recent years to provide a service with greater added value". And he pointed out that "home staging is going to revolutionise the sector, as it increases the quality of real estate and speeds up the sale of properties".
Need for more housing
The 1st National Forum on Home Staging and Real Estate Marketing saw the staging of different round tables, one of them on current trends in the Spanish real estate sector, moderated by Paloma Martínez Almeida, the director of idealista/News. In one of the round tables, Miguel Ángel Gómez, the chairman of the Federation of Associations of Real Estate Companies (FADEI) and of the Madrid Association of Real Estate Companies (AMADEI), complained about "the lack of supply of new housing on the market". According to the latest forecasts, Spain needs around 600,000 new homes by 2025. Ramón Riera, the world chairman of the International Federation of Real Estate Professionals (FIABCI), pointed out that "we have a very fragmented real estate market" and agreed that "the problem is the shortage of new housing". Other speakers included Mariano Fuentes, the chairman of the Association of Independent Real Estate Consultants (ASCISI), and Ana Luengo, the chair of the Association of Women Real Estate Professionals (AMPSI).
In another contribution, Barb Schwarz, the creator and inventor of home staging, explained why and how this activity works in the United States and why it can revolutionise the Spanish real estate market. In this regard, she pointed out that we need to be persistent when we communicate the possibilities and advantages of this activity. In turn, Sanja Radovanovic, the chair of the European Association of Home Staging Professionals (EAHSP), explained the peculiarities of how home staging works in other countries, pointing out that Spain also has great potential for its development.
BIM at the Santiago Bernabéu
Other events and seminars were also held today as part of the International Construction Week, including the BIM FORUM, where FCC's Laura Aldea explained the collaboration through openBIM in the renovation ofMadrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. She pointed out that two events, namely the Filomena weather phenomenon and the Covid pandemic, constituted "a turning point" for the planned renovation works, asserting that at that time "it was crucial to have digitalisation tools through different software so that all the companies involved in the works had the model permanently updated".