Strong increase in prices living place inside Portugal, Both buying and renting increase the pressure on families already hit by the rise in inflation. According to data from Confidencial Inmobiliario, a company specializing in the housing market, the purchase price on continental territory increased by 18.7% in December 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year. It is the largest annual increase. last 30 years in the country. Despite the average prices per square meter in rentals, the increase in prices was more controlled. Lisbon It already exceeds that of other major European cities such as Madrid.
rise construction costs -caused by shortages of raw materials- and rise Interest rates are among the main reasons for the increase in purchase prices. A situation that affected the whole of Europe, but in Portugal, in addition to other specific problems in the national real estate market, the increase in house prices was more pronounced in that country than the euro area average. According to Eurostat data, this increase 13% in Portugal In the third quarter of 2022, compared to the same period of the previous year, all Eurozone rose 6.8 percent.
foreign investment
This difference compared to the European average is partly due to foreign investors In the Portuguese real estate market, especially in cities such as Lisbon and Porto. with the arrival of highly skilled workers from countries Northern Europe and the United States – most digital nomads – investing purely for speculative purposes, driven by policy golden visasgranting residence permits to foreign citizens who have bought property worth a long time 500.000 Euros anywhere in the country.
Foreign investment has increased in recent months, although the Portuguese Government has limited golden visas to the purchase of real estate in less populated areas. According to the data of the Bank of Portugal, home purchases by foreign nationals in Portugal, 11.7% of total trading volume Almost three points more in 2022 than the previous year. a situation caused Left BlockProposing a law that would prevent the purchase of houses in Portugal by a former parliamentary partner of the government, citizens or companies with headquarters or permanent residence abroad.
empty houses
The imbalance between supply and demand also affects the economy. rental priceincreasing in Lisbon 36.9% According to the company specializing in the European real estate market last year casafari. The recovery of tourism after the pandemic has returned thousands of accommodations to the short-stay market, a problem that adds to the high volume of accommodations. empty houses in the city. Lisbon City Council, approx. 48,000 vacant properties in the capital, about 2,000 of which belong to the Consistory.
“There are many small owners who choose to own an unused property because They do not believe in the speed of justice. The president of the Portuguese Association of Realtors (APEMIP) explains to EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA of the Prensa Ibérica group: Paulo Caiado. “On the other hand, many vacant homes are uninhabitable and many owners simply do not have enough resources to pay for the necessary work,” adds Caiado, confident that the injection will not be nearly over. 2.7 billion euro bailout fund The European Union for Housing Policies helps solve the problem.
public policy
However, despite efforts by the Portuguese government and local governments to improve access to housing, for now no sign of balance between supply and demand. Professor of Geography at the University of Lisbon Luis Mendes Enabling enforcement measures to attract owners to the rental market through tax incentives, they didn’t work. “They have a definite skepticism about putting the houses on the market for rent because the owners do not trust the government. There is a narrative of not putting empty houses because they fear that the state will take over the administrative authority, increase the tax burden and increase the tax burden. instability of laws”.
First Minister, Antonio Costa, announced its intention to approve a new one this week Housing Lawwill include the addition of more developable land and new tax incentives for owners to put their properties on the market. some measures to accompany biggest public offering, according to Housing Minister Marina Gonçalves. We will only be able to respond to families by strengthening the mass housing stock.” The goal is to have the new law ready before the end of the first quarter of this year.