2020 to be third best year for real estate transactions – consultant

The director of real estate consultancy JLL Portugal said, in an interview with Lusa, that the pandemic prevented the real estate sector from reaching a new peak this year, but it will still be the third best year ever in volume of transactions.

“Until the pandemic appeared, we estimated that [2020] would once again be the best year in all real estate sectors. That it would be another historic year,” Pedro Lancastre said, noting that despite the current situation, 2020 “will remain the third best year” after 2018 and 2019 in terms of volume transacted.

He noted estimates that commercial real estate would reach 2.7 billion euros in transactions in 2020 and that transactions involving the residential segment would reach 23 billion euros.

In 2019, these segments recorded 3.2 billion and 25 billion euros respectively in real estate transactions.

Looking ahead to 2021, Pedro Lancastre said that the businesses in the portfolio and signs of recovery that began to be felt from the second quarter of this year, after the fall observed in the second quarter, indicate that next year may exceed the 2020 results.

“Portugal may even be one of the winners in terms of real estate in 2021 and beyond” because it is increasingly “a country where people want to live, work and study”.

In this context, he points to the ‘gold visas’ and the need to maintain the regime without the changes flagged in the legislative authorisation included in the 2020 state budget.

On the price side, and after the smoothing of the upward trend that had already begun to be observed, the pandemic has imposed a stabilisation.

“At the most difficult times prices tend to stabilise and that is what is happening,” he said, admitting that “from now on” there may be a downward correction, but not in the centres of major cities.

Where this downward correction can occur and also reach the centres of the main cities is in housing rental, because the houses previously reserved for tourist accommodation are now available for longer rentals.

Nevertheless, he believes that this will be a momentary situation, which will end as soon as the pandemic allows tourists to return.