Job stability, scarce supply and demand for homes by foreigners justify the position of the former CEO of Novo Banco.
António Ramalho, former Novo Banco CEO Getty images
House prices have risen a lot in recent years – that’s for sure. But this does not mean that Portugal has or will have a real estate bubble, as there continues to be a scarce supply of housing and resilient employment. António Ramalho, former CEO of Novo Banco, said this on the first day of the Portugal Real Estate Summit, an initiative that counts on idealista as a media partner.
Today, “house price growth is moderating, with adverse base effects and tighter financial conditions. Demand remains resilient, but transactions are decreasing", said António Ramalho. But "despite what many say, Portugal does not have a real estate bubble and will never see one", he stressed that price growth was not associated with increase in household debt.
He also pointed out several reasons that support his view. To begin with, the job market in Portugal is robust. And the demand for houses continues to be much higher than the existing housing supply (unlike what happened in the 2008 housing crisis, when there were more construction projects than buyers). Furthermore, it was the demand for housing from abroad and high tourist activity that fueled the growth in house prices in recent years.
The former Minister of Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, also ruled out the hypothesis that Portugal would have a real estate bubble. “What António Ramalho demonstrated is that the Portuguese market is actually very mature, where a large part of the Portuguese own the houses where they live, a significant part of these almost two million families have their houses almost paid for”, he stated quoted by the same newspaper.
"Unlike other peripheral destinations, Portugal continues to be a low-risk market due to its local importance. I can't say that Portugal is the best real estate market in the world, but it is one of the best", highlighted the former CEO of Novo Banco at the event.
Read the full article here!
Source: Idealista
コメント