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New Mortgage Lending Up 24.2%

April 29, 2021 – Ana Custódio

Housing permits rose by 20.6%, while residential bank valuations were up by 8.0% in the year to April. At the same time, cement consumption in Portugal rose by 11.5% y-o-y, according to AICCOPN’s Statistical Synthesis of Housing.

During the first four months of 2021, licences issued by city councils for the construction or rehabilitation of residential buildings rose by 20.6%. The rise stemmed from a 22.6% increase in new housing, 19.1% for new builds, and 13.2% for residential rehabilitation works.

According to AICCOPN, the changes in licensing are partially due to the reduction in licensing that occurred in March and April 2020 due to the pandemic outbreak and the first containment measures.

In the first four months of 2021, new loans for housing purchases rose significantly to 4.569 billion euros, increasing 24.2% y-o-y. In April, residential bank assessments reached a new high, up 8.0% year-on-year. Flats rose by 8.6% and houses by 6.5% year-on-year.

The Statistical Housing Survey highlighted the Metropolitan Area of Porto, where the number of newly licensed homes totalled 5,360 in the twelve months ending April 2021, increasing 11.6% compared to the 4,805 housing units licensed in the previous twelve months.  According to the analysis, 22.1% were one-bedroom flats or studios, 28.2% were two-bedroom units, and 49.6% were three-bedroom units or more.

Translation: Richard D K Turner