ELENA AGUILAR

There was a time when there was a waiting list to refurbish the bathroom, change the kitchen, reform an apartment or renovate the facade of a residential building in Castellón. It was the era of the real-estate bubble, which after the prick deflated both the construction field as well as the number of companies that were dedicated to housing refurbishments and house enlargements. Now things begin to change and the sector has risen from its ashes. The pull of the economic recovery has given an important impulse to this business, which today, together with construction business, seems to have left the hard years of the crisis behind.

In 2018, the number of visas to rehabilitate or reform buildings in the province amounted to 289, 9,8% more than a year earlier, according to the latest data handled by the Ministry of Development. The statistics include only those projects that need a project management visa by the College of Technical Architects and Quantity Surveyors, so there are no minor works, that is, those that only require a municipal minor work license. And these have also shot up.

Those 289 house enlargements and reform projects approved last year in Castellón represent the highest figure since 2011. However, despite the fact that the sector has not stopped growing since 2014, it has not yet managed to reach figures of one of his best years: 2008, when 513 visas were registered in the province. But, what is behind this boom in the construction sector of used homes? There are several key factors and the first has to do with the economic recovery and the age of the housing stock in the province. Another reason is directly related to the sale of second-hand apartments and that, in many cases is accompanied by an improvement reform, either for the individual who will convert it into your home or for the investor who wants to use it for rent.

The companies that in Castellón are dedicated to reform projects also confirm that good moment that the sector is going through. “There is an important recovery. Both by individuals and professionals,” says Juan Manuel Cayuela, head of Sumitay’s exhibition, one of the leaders in the province in equipment and reform of kitchens and bathrooms. “Many of our clients undertake reforms in their first homes or in their apartments, although those who buy a used house are also growing and reforming to sell it again or put it in the rental market,” describes Cayuela.

The rise of reforms is a fact, and the construction of new homes, too. And that is shown in the employment. The brick sector closed 2018 giving direct employment to 9,708 workers, 9.4% more than the previous year, when the employees were 8,868. And this year it seems that the streak continues: during the month of January, 18,102 labor contracts were signed in the province, 937 in construction. The problem nor is that many companies are beginning to have difficulties when finding workers, specially bricklayers and technical profiles.