Property investment down to €90 million in Q2

Investment in property in Portugal fell to €90 million in the second quarter of the year.

This compares to the €1.4Bn in the first quarter and the disappointing results are as a direct consequence of the impact from Covid-19 according to consultants JLL.
According to the company’s director of capital markets, Fernando Ferreira, the stark difference in the results reflected the “before and after Covid scenarios”.
“Our first quarter was absolutely exceptional in terms of performance due to some transactions that began at the end of 2019, but were only concluded this year, including a transaction involving the sale by Sonae Sierra of a relevant stake in some assets,” which meant that the investment turnover achieved was “highly relevant” said Fernando Ferreira.
Ferreira added that in recent months they had noticed that investor appetite, notwithstanding the uncertainty, has remained, showing that, “There are lots of investors wanting to invest in Portugal” in addition to “the transactions that are currently underway now” and should be completed in the second or last quarter of the year.
Nevertheless, Fernando Ferreira tells Diário Imobiliário that some real estate segments “have ended up being more resilient than others”, namely offices, and “anything on long contracts” such as food retail outlets, supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Furthermore, the JLL director emphasises “an increasing appetite for the residential property class as an investment in itself, and not just as a product to sell,” something that is a trend worldwide at present.
“Many investors look to residential as a very resilient class of assets and, for this reason, are seeking opportunities in Portugal,” he said.