Month: April 2020

Beautique Hotels Names DST to Build New Hotel in Lisbon

29 April 2020 – The Beautique Hotels group, which owns three hotels in Lisbon – on the Praça da Figueira, Rua da Madalena and Avenida Almirante Reis – announced that it would invest 15 million euros in opening its fourth hotel in the Portuguese capital. The firm awarded DST, the Braga-based construction group, the €5.4-million contract to build the hotel.

The Hotel dos Reis, by Avenida Almirante Reis and Rua Maria Andrade, is slated for inauguration in the latter half of this year. The hotel will have a gross surface area of more than 3,000 m2, with above-ground seven floors and 54 rooms.

Original Story: Jornal de Negócios – Rui Neves

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Hotel Bookings Begin to Show Signs of Life in Southern Portugal

28 April 2020 – Even though Europe, and most of the world, are still in a state of perpetual uncertainty, officials in the two southern-most regions of Portugal have confirmed that hotel reservations for the summer months are on the rise. The bookings are mainly by the Portuguese, although there is also a significant number of visitors from overseas. The president of Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo, António Ceia da Silva, spoke of “a significant increase,” adding that “People are tired of being at home and want to come and spend a few days in the Alentejo as early as June.”

João Fernandes, the president of the Algarve Tourism Region, was somewhat more circumspect, emphasising that demand continues to be significantly below the norm. To assuage the anxieties of potential tourists and bolster demand, Turismo de Portugal is creating a “Clean and Safe label,” which will help determine which operators are hewing more closely to hygiene regulations. The first signs of an easing of the lockdown are leading to increased interest by residents of countries such as Germany, Spain and France.

Original Story: Diário de Notícias – Filipe Morais

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Palminvest Acquires the Bernardino Gomes Group for €300 Million

28 April 2020 – Palminvest, which is partially controlled by Yahoo!’s former COO, Henrique de Castro, has acquired the Bernardino Gomes Group for about three hundred million euros. The deal had been under negotiation for over a year and was finalised in February.

The Bernardino Gomes Group, which was founded in the 1970s, controls a portfolio of properties that includes more than 2,000 flats, over 100 villas, 500 shops, 20 offices, 15 warehouses, twelve hotels and more than 60 plots of land. The most valuable asset, however, is the Hotéis Real (Royal Hotels) hotel chain.

Hotéis Real has around 1,500 rooms, primarily in Lisbon and the Algarve. These include the Grande Real Villa Itália Hotel & Spa (Cascais), Hotel Real Oeiras, Hotel Real Palácio (Lisbon), Hotel Real Parque (Lisbon), Real Residência Apartamentos Turísticos (Lisbon), Maxime Hotel Lisbon, Grande Real Santa Eulália Resort & Hotel Spa (Albufeira), Real Bellavista Hotel & Spa (Albufeira), Real Marina Hotel & Spa and Real Marina Residence (both in Olhão).

The buyer plans to invest more than €20 million in the portfolio, specifically the Hotéis Real chain, which has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Original Story: Economia Online – Rita Neto

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Lisbon Will Look to Acquire Tourist Flats for Public Housing

28 April 2020 – The Lisbon City Council (CML) is looking into the possibility of acquiring ready-to-live private properties to expand the municipality’s holdings of residential properties. The properties under consideration are currently largely used as local tourist accommodations, such as those found on Airbnb.  

The CML currently owns 7% of the total housing in Lisbon.  Paula Marques, a councillor, argues that the pandemic must change the city’s handling of its housing policies to help families that are suffering both from the increase in rents of the last years and the current crisis. Ms Marques, who believes that the pandemic will further aggravate the existing problems, stated that the “CML must take note at this juncture and consider how it can use the current circumstances to increase its [holdings], in particular homes that are ready to live in.”

According to a proposal, the municipality intends to consult the market to lay the basis for a public tender for the properties.

Original Story: Economia Online / Lusa

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Taga-Urbanic to Invest Up to €100 Million in Portugal

28 April 2020 – The Taga-Urbanic group announced that it had awarded two new projects in Porto to the Gabriel Couto construction company. The firm, which has already made a dozen acquisitions in Lisbon and Porto, is seeking to build a portfolio of 700 refurbished flats by 2023.

The first real estate project, known as João das Regras, will consist of a two-building apartment block located at Rua João das Regras. The complex will have 44 26-to-30 square meter studios, and two one-bedroom homes (33 and 55 m2).

The second development, Paraíso 49, will be a multi-family building located in Rua do Paraíso. The complex will consist of five above-ground and three below-ground floors and a total of eighteen flats (one studio, nine 1-bedroom, three 2-bedroom, three 3-bedroom and two 4-bedroom units).

Original Story: Jornal de Negócios – Rui Neves

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Average Residential Sales Prices and Costs Up in 1Q2020

22 April 2020 – Average housing sales and rental prices continued their upward trend in the first quarter of this year in Portugal, according to data published this week by Imovirtual. Sales rose by 5% while rental prices increased by 3%.

The average price of apartments and houses for sale rose from 331,564 euros in the last quarter of 2019 to 349,212 euros in the first three months of 2020. The average cost of rental properties increased by 33 euros to €1,219 in the same period.

Lisbon maintained its position at the top of sales (avg. of 563,268 euros) and rental cost (€1,569/month) tables. However, Évora (+18%) saw the highest increase in sales prices, while Guarda (+14%) posted the most considerable growth in rental costs.

Original Story: Jornal Económico – Mariana Bandeira

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Hotels with Health Seal of Approval to Begin Reopening in the Summer

22 April 2020 – According to a report in the Diário Imobiliário, the president of the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP), Raul Martins, announced that the government would allow many hotels to reopen in July. The news came after representatives of the hotel sector met with the prime minister, António Costa, in Lisbon.

Mr Martins stated that the hotel industry would work together with Tourism of Portugal and the Directorate General of Health (DGS) to develop protocols to ensure health security, which would come in the form of a health-focused seal of approval for hotels. The measures will seek to ensure visitors safety while creating standardised methods and requirements for cleaning and disinfecting.

Original Story: Diário Imobiliário

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Residential Mortgage Rates Steady in March

21 April 2020 – After seven months of consecutive decline, the residential mortgage rate held mostly steady in March. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), the implicit interest stayed below 1% at 0.998%, down by 0.001% from February.

Loans to finance the acquisition of homes, the most significant component of mortgage finance, saw the average implicit interest rate rise by 0.1 basis points to 1.019%. The average amount of outstanding loans rose by €85 to 53,840 euros. At the same time, the average monthly payment rose by one euro to 249 euros.

Original Story: Economia Online – Rita Neto

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

Tenants Facing Loss of Income May Unilaterally Defer Rental Payments

21 April 2020 – The Portuguese government has passed a temporary measure whereby tenants who lose more than 20% of their income, and whose effort rate then exceeds 35%, may defer their rental payments during the state of emergency. Those same tenants may choose to defer their entire payment or just a part, at their discretion.

The tenants defer the rent until one month after the end of the state of emergency by submitting documentation proving such a loss of income. At that point, the renter must inform up to five days before the rental payment date.

The government, however, is concerned that families may end up accumulating debts that will be difficult to pay back at a later date. To avoid such a situation, the government recommends the use of loans from the IHRU, which have much more advantageous repayment conditions.

Original Story: Economia Online – Rita Neto

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner

IHRU to Loan Up to 100% of Rents for Lowest-Income Families

21 April 2020 – According to an article on Economia Online, tenants who suffer from decreased income due to the state of emergency may apply for a loan from the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU) to cover rental payments. The loans would, in most cases, comprise just a part of the monthly rent but, in the case of low-income households, could reach 100% of the monthly amount.

According to the Law 4-C/2020, which came into force on April 7, housing tenants “may apply to the IHRU for an interest-free loan to make up the difference between the amount of monthly rent due and the amount resulting from the application to the household’s income of a maximum effort rate of 35%, to allow for the payment of the rent due, and the household’s remaining disposable income may not be less than the index for social support (IAS).”

At first glance, it appears that when a household’s remaining disposable income is below IAS, currently €438,81, the IHRU would not grant the loan. But a government official stated that “whenever the disposable income is below the IAS, the IHRU can finance a higher amount than it would normally.”

Original Story: Economia Online – Rita Neto

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner