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New Construction Accounts for 81% of Real Estate Projects

19 February 2018

In the year to November, 27,2200 new homes were licensed in Portugal. That figure is 35% more than in the first eleven months of 2016.

The data for the year has yet to be wholly tallied, but the figures for December are expected to confirm a distinct trend for the first nine months of 2017: strong demand for real estate has reawakened the dormant construction sector. More and more new projects are under development, especially in the principal cities of Lisbon and Porto.

But while rehabilitation has been a dominant force in the changing appearances of Portugal’s cities, lately new construction has become ever more relevant. So much so that in the year to November 2017, 12,500 residential projects in the country entered the licensing phase, only 19% of which were within the scope of urban rehabilitation. The remaining 81% relate to new construction, Confidencial Imobiliário reported.

“The increase in the launch of new housing reflects a recovery and continuing positive signs emanating from the real estate sector. But it also reflects the upbeat expectations for future growth in the market,” Ricardo Guimarães, director of Confidencial Imobiliário, stated.

The number of properties in the licensing phase grew by 35% in the year to November 2017, with Lisbon and Porto taking centre stage. In the metropolitan area of Lisbon, about 7,200 homes were licensed, related to 2,200 residential projects – 80% of which is new construction. In the metropolitan area of Porto, 4,500 new houses entered licensing, 57% more than in the same period of 2016. These 1,110 residential projects are divided between new construction (65%) and rehabilitation (35%).

Original Story: Dinheiro Vivo – Ana Margarida Pinheiro

Translation: Richard Turner