Those of us of a certain age lived in our youth through a time when knowledge (or, at least, education) had a very simple division: sciences and letters. Totally binary. Each side with its adherents. With an obligatory allegiance to the chosen team: one had to defend one's own colors and, if necessary (almost always), look with disdain at the rival collective...
Fortunately, as a surprising Núria Feliu sang at the beginning of her career, tot és gris (Everything is gray, look for the video with the great Tete Montoliu at the piano). So, over the years, the thinking heads of education departments and/or ministries observed that the division did not admit any kind of nuance. On the other hand, new times (what a worn-out cliché, this "new times" thing...) demanded a much more flexible educational offer. Currently, there are so many possibilities that a tutorial is needed to understand the entire curricular landscape.
All this introduction to explain that, although my studies were what we would call pure sciences, from the beginning I tried to broaden my horizons. My curiosity led me to be interested in much of what was brewing on the other side: philosophy, music (classical, opera, and jazz, in that order), literature... and also etymology.
And so we come to the crux of the matter: speculators. A word, poor thing, that gathers all the anger of many people. Now, if we go to the etymology of the word, we will see that "speculate" comes from the Latin speculari: to observe, to lie in wait (speculari, a word derived from specula: a place of observation). A totally neutral definition, without any burden.
You will agree with me that this definition fits other words better: to watch, to glimpse, to contemplate, to examine... And yet, far from the etymology, the common mortal assumes that a speculator is someone who takes advantage of the situation to obtain the maximum profit. And since my field is real estate and investments, the extrapolation is easy: anyone who looks at the real estate sector with a desire to invest in it is a speculator.
Let's make a parenthesis and allow me an exercise in honesty. As workers, whether salaried, self-employed, entrepreneurs... we always try to make the most of our resources. In the workplace, these are: time and capabilities. We always look for the scenario that gives the best result to the formula that combines remuneration, flexibility, the work itself, personal satisfaction, expectations, etc. (everyone has their formula, logically). And as savers, we always try to make the most of the few pennies we may have depending on risk, profitability, deadlines, etc. (here everyone also applies their formula). All of this, workers or savers, always protected by the legal framework that surrounds us... if we don't want to end up in Can Brians.
Like us, companies in the real estate sector (well, in all sectors) always try to make the most of their resources: basically, the money invested. Otherwise, we wouldn't call them companies, but NGOs. On the other hand, although some companies have a lot of power to widen the regulatory framework (ahem...), most of them operate within the law. Getting these companies not to obtain too good a result is in the hands of the Government. They are the only ones who can change the regulatory framework and legislate accordingly.
If private initiative does not solve the housing problem, perhaps it is necessary for the public administration to get its act together.Be careful, however, that in trying to limit their profits, they don't end up shooting themselves in the foot! Many of the steps taken to limit the profits of real estate owners (from large funds to small savers owning individual apartments) have unwanted derivatives. Let's look at a couple of examples. It can happen (in fact, it does happen) that having to allocate 30% to official protection housing from the offer resulting from any renovation or new construction in Barcelona does not satisfy the interests of developers/builders. We may be very angry, but, obviously, we cannot force these companies to undertake these projects if they don't fit their plans.
The other example is found in the reduction of the rental apartment supply. If an owner (again, from large funds with hundreds of apartments to people who only have one) sees their rental expectation limited, it can happen (in fact, it does happen) that they decide to put the apartment or apartments up for sale. You will have seen/read that lately many more mortgages are being formalized than in previous years. Surely the containment of the Euribor facilitates this panorama, but it would be naive not to think that at this moment there is more supply in the buying and selling market for what I pointed out before, due to the fact that many people decide to sell their apartments.
In summary, if private initiative, with or without legislative changes, does not solve the housing problem, perhaps it is necessary for the public administration to get its act together beyond the big headlines. By the way, has anyone seen the cranes for the 50,000 apartments promised by President Illa?
And since we are talking about the public administration, some point out that these are the most speculative of all, as they take full advantage of the current situation. On the one hand, the fees that behind any real estate operation leave a fortune in the coffers of City Councils, the Generalitat, and the Central Government. We could call it unforeseen, passive speculation. But there is also active speculation: that of politically exploiting the discomfort caused by the difficulty of access to housing, singling out certain groups when the administration itself is co-responsible for the mess.
I'm finishing. Earlier I asked for an exercise in honesty and spoke about the alternatives when it comes to optimizing our savings. Question: are all those who have deposited their savings in these famous indexed funds aware that behind this seductive concept and its comfortable proposal there is (or can be) part of the money invested in funds that invest in real estate? Should we then label all these savers as speculators?