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The State of the Portuguese Real Estate Market in April
April’s property market remained vigorous and resilient at the start of the second quarter of the year. After two years of the pandemic and an international conflict currently affecting the entire European economy, the sector is weathering the storm and saw significant investments during the month in various sectors.
Residential
The month was halfway through when the beginning of the construction of MERECES 718 was announced, in an 8-million-euro investment. The first building of the new multipurpose complex, developed by dstgroup, includes 36 flats and two shops in Barcelinhos, the municipality of Barcelos. Focused on creating a familiar and safe environment, the project has already sold more than 40% of the units.
Meanwhile, the Convento do Beato will include a residential condominium with more than 60 flats. The Larfa Properties group will redevelop the surrounding buildings to accommodate this condominium with 61 flats and a central square with a garden which will bring together the entire block. The area in Lisbon is being completely redeveloped to integrate well-known events space with a new residential condominium called Beato Quarter.
Finally, the real estate developer SOLYD Property Developers started work on the third and final block of Lago Altear. 80% of the units have already been sold in just three months. The building, LAGO ALTEAR – Block C, is the seventh launch of the project ALTEAR, consisting of 63 new flats and three commercial spaces in Alta de Lisboa. Composed of three buildings, Block C represents an investment of 31 million euros. The first two blocks were already concluded and fully let. The construction company Alves Ribeiro is responsible for the project to be completed in 2024.
Offices
A the beginning of the month, WeWork announced that it would open the first flex office space in Portugal. The first tenant will be Organon, a multinational operating in the health sector, and the space will be inaugurated in the summer of 2022. The building located at Rua Alexandre Herculano will mark the 39th country for WeWork globally. The opening in Portugal reflects the company’s growth strategy, which involves expansion into markets with strong demand for flexible workspaces. Organon, a global leader in women’s health and a valued member of WeWork worldwide, will occupy three floors of the building.
Industrial and Logistics
April also began well for the industrial and logistics sectors, starting with doValue’s announcement regarding its sales of three commercial properties for €5.9 million. The transactions were completed in the first quarter of this year but have only just become public. The assets are located in Abrunheira, Sintra, the Industrial Area of Santarém and the Warehouse area in Taveiro, Coimbra. DoValue Portugal intermediated the sale of three commercial buildings. The operations concluded in the first quarter of this year totalled close to 6 million euros.
Meanwhile, Panattoni announced an investment of 50 million euros in its first logistics park in Portugal. The logistics-industrial real estate developer has debuted in Portugal, developing the largest logistics project in the country’s north, including two buildings with surface areas of 27,000 m2 and 47,000 m2 for lease in Porto. Panattoni’s first deal in the country was the acquisition of 150,000 m2 of land in the industrial complex of Campo Valongo, Porto. Panattoni Park Porto, the new logistics facility, results from a purchase from the Braga-based Castro Group, which will also be responsible for supervising the different phases of the project’s pre-construction process.
With the month drawing to a close, Aldi announced a 60-million-euro investment in its largest distribution centre. Located in Moita, the warehouse will allow it to supply more than 100 Aldi shops in Portugal rapidly. The food retailer also stated that the centre, with an area of 57,000 square metres, will streamline the supply of goods to shops across the country. The structure was designed to support over 150 shops in the country and arose due to the need to support Aldi’s expansion plan in Portugal, aiming to reach 200 shops by 2025.
Student Residences
The Universidade Nova de Lisboa announced the launch of a tender to create a University Residence in Caparica. The project will result in the largest accommodation for the academic community in Almada. With up to 550 beds, it will be the largest accommodation for students, teachers and researchers in the Almada region. The purpose of the tender is the constitution of a surface right for a lot located on the Campus of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCT) in Caparica, Almada.
Residences for Senior Citizens
Thor announced the expansion of its portfolio, acquiring a social and health project in the heart of Porto. In Porto, the private equity firm bought a senior citizens’residence on Rua 5 de Outubro. The move is part of its investment plan on the Iberian Peninsula. It will develop a six-storey building with a surface area of more than 6,910 square metres, with 96 single rooms and eight double rooms.
Hotels
Fontinha Hotel opened at the beginning of the month in the historic centre of Porto. The urban rehabilitation project results from a 14-million-euro investment by Mercan Properties.
The new four-star hotel has 49 rooms on six floors. The first Trademark Collection by Wyndham hotel in Portugal was built on the site of an old quarry. The new four-star hotel is located in the city’s historical centre, between Rua da Fontinha and Rua de Santa Catarina.
Meanwhile, the Barceló Angra Marina has been awarded at the Traveller Review Awards 2022. The awards have been given according to customer reviews in recent years. The Traveller Review Awards 2022 were awarded to 113 Barceló Hotel Group hotels located in 13 countries in Europe. The only five-star hotel in Angra do Heroísmo, on the island of Terceira, was one of the winners. The hotel has 130 rooms and is an urban holiday resort located next to the sea, and the Angra do Heroísmo marina.
Shopping Centres
With April drawing to a close, Grupo Domingos Névoa announced it had acquired two shopping centres for more than 20 million euros. Its initial acquisition of the Braga Retail Center was followed closely by the Mira Maia Shopping. The Braga group intends to reinforce its presence in this sector. Mira Maia Shopping, inaugurated in 2009 by the bankrupt FDO in a €45 million investment, was managed by Inogi – Asset Management. The asset is located close to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, has 19,000 square metres of gross lettable area, around 80 shops and approximately 850 parking spaces.
Proptech
Tiko announced that it is continuing its expansion in Portugal with a new branch in Porto. Tiko now has three locations in Portugal: Lisbon, Setúbal and Porto. The company is the first international iBuyer to operate in the Portuguese market and is looking to expand further after beginning its expansion in November 2021. It chose Lisbon as its first overseas location and is now expanding to Porto.