Real estate in Portugal yielded 1,500 million by March. Virus will stop sector
The Q1 was the second best quarter ever in the country's history. But the rest of the year will bring a slowdown. 2020 should close below 2.5 billion euros.
The real estate is being one of the sectors affected by the current crisis, but Q1 escaped this ‘tsunami’. According to the CBRE consultancy, 17 real estate deals were closed by March, for 1,500 million euros, the second highest quarterly figure ever. However, for the year, the sector estimates a decrease of 30% compared to last year.
Between January and March, of the 42 properties that were sold, CBRE highlights the sale of a stake in a group of shopping centres comprising Centro Colombo, Centro Vasco da Gama, CascaiShopping and NorteShopping, which represented about half of the 1,500 million euros transacted.
In addition, two portfolios were sold, one with ten hotels and another with eight offices, says the consultant’s research. Thus, “the commerce sector captured over 50% of total investment in the quarter,” with hotels representing 24% and offices 19%. Of the amount associated to these operations, about 75% of the investment came from international investors.
The figures registered in the first three months of the year continue the very positive trend observed in the last quarter of last year, when 1,700 million euros were transacted, a record for the domestic market. These 1.5 billion in the first quarter “already exceed the total amount raised in 2007, before the crisis,” states CBRE.
For the entire year, the market expected a new record to be set against the 3.5 billion euros recorded in 2019, but expectations are now lower due to the crisis that is generating uncertainty in the sector. Nevertheless, CBRE believes that in three months the market will recover and that it will be possible to close the year between 2,000 and 2,500 million euros in business.
