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Portugal Has the Lowest Number of New Housing in Europe

25 March 2020 – A study published by the German Ifo Institute has noted that Portugal has the lowest average new housing construction rate per 1,000 inhabitants in Europe. The report, which analyzes 19 European countries, found an average of less than 1.5 new homes per thousand inhabitants in Portugal, compared to more than six in Finland, Austria, and Switzerland.

In Europe as a whole, an average of approximately four new homes is built per year, per 1,000 inhabitants. Portugal is at the bottom of the table, behind Spain and Italy. The study reads that “markets in Spain, Portugal, and Italy are moving slowly,” adding that “the growth rates… for the construction of new residential buildings in Spain, for example, should continue to slow down and eventually fall by 2% in 2022.” That forecast came before the current Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on the European economy. The Ifo Institute pointed towards such obstacles to growth as tighter environmental regulations, a lack of labor, and also a lack of land for development.

Original Story: Observador– Edgar Caetano

Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner