Pilar Molina says that his was a "natural transition." One day I was a journalist in a home magazine and almost by deformation ended up as a decorator and interior designer of houses. It began with the 2008 crisis, without fear of what might come next; In part, he says, because people never stop doing things at home, no matter how small. "This is like eating: you can go to a Michelin star or McDonald's . " And from here his philosophy is born: "Prepare quality food but cheap ".

His works range from transforming a pilot floor so that it goes well in the photos to implement projects for complete promotions. Thus he dodged the worst years after the bursting of the brick bubble and thus has achieved that Masfotogénica , the business he leads with her husband on the Costa del Sol, chains several years of growth exceeding 10%.

His business, like so many others related to construction and residential development, has grown exponentially with the new golden age of housing in Spain. Serve as shown by the data collected by Houzz, an online platform focused on home design and renovation, where more than 40% of its companies saw their gross revenues increase by 10% in 2018.

"In addition, 20% hired more employees," explains Nino Sitchinava , chief economist at the company. "The recovery of the construction in Spain in the last four years, the solid projections of the next three and the margin to return to the levels of 2007, without a doubt, are feeding the positive perspective of the professionals", adds the expert.

Optimism is widespread in the sector. The Spanish will spend an average of 700 euros this year on reforms, 3% more than in 2018, according to the latest edition of the 360º Observatory of Housing and Home Reform published by the employer Andimac (National Association of Ceramic Distributors and Construction materials).

With these forecasts, the market turnover is expected to exceed 18,000 million euros , 575 more than the previous year.

Upload the sale

The recovery in the sale of homes is the engine that pulls all the gear. So far this year, operations have grown by around 2% (despite the year-on-year decrease of 3.1% recorded in April) and experts point out that the cycle, despite showing signs of more behavior Moderate than in 2017 or 2018, it is still positive.

Other factors that explain the pull of businesses related to residential construction are added to the increase in sales. "The rejuvenation of the housing stock in Spain, which is aging at 3.3% per year, to the point that the first houses of the last real estate bubble begin to come of age and more than 80% of homes currently have more 18 years, "point from Andimac.

"Likewise, according to INE forecasts, in 2031 there will be more than 5.5 million single-person households in Spain, almost 30% of the total, which will force them to be reformed to adapt them individually to each personal and family situation," they add. The sum of all these factors together with the improvement of wages and confidence in the Spanish economy leads the employer of the sector to estimate that 37,600 more reforms will be made this year.

For those who seek to obtain profitability by investing in brick or take advantage of the rent boom in our country, Andimac specifies that for a renovated house you can obtain up to 30% more rental income . To do this, yes, we must overcome the obstacles that arise in the process and everyone, the most influential is the lack of budget.

Pilar notices it in the area of Malaga where he extends his activities. This is also one of the areas in the whole country with the greatest pressure on housing prices. "A lot of housing is being generated but prices are so high that they deplete customer budgets, " he says in the telephone conversation he has with EL MUNDO . "Right now our business is working, we are browsing," he concludes.

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