Real Estate Roundup

Real estate investment at €2.5Bn in 2022

A study by the real estate consultants Worx shows that investment in real estate in Portugal should break the €2.5Bn barrier by the end of 2022.
However, it indicates that the investment turnover in 2023 will be less with the market suffering a slowdown, particularly during the first half of the year with investors adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude.
310,000 m2 of office space rented out in Lisbon and Porto to November
The total area of office space rented out in Lisbon and Porto increased by 75% on the same period in 2021 to 310,000m2. In Lisbon the office take-up rate was 259,200m2 while Porto saw a take-up rate of 52,700m2.

Arrow buys Totta portfolio for €86M

The European asset management company Arrow has bought a portfolio of 1,036 properties from Santander Totta for €86 million. Other Portuguese banks are currently selling portfolios of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) for €570, €100 and €180 million respectively. In Portugal Arrow Global operates through Whitestar Asset Solutions which specialises in credit and real estate portfolios. It had successful competed to win the purchase of the Banco Santander Totta properties portfolio called ‘Project Guadiana’.

Domusvenda launches fund

Domusvenda is to launch a €500 million fund to invest in non-performing loans and property. It plans to raise the money on the market. The Portuguese asset management company run by João Costa Reis specialises in buying up distressed assets, overdue and default loans (NPLs) and mortgages. The man who takes the credit for really launching the NPL market in Portugal told Jornal Económico that he will launch the fund in 2023 when a potential increase in default loans is expected because of rising interest rates.

House prices up 13.1% in Q3

House prices in the Portuguese market rose 13.1% overall in the third quarter of 2022 and 6.4% overall for the year. The Q3 result was a slight decrease of 0.1% in the second quarter according to Portugal’s national statistics office (INE) which published the information on 23 December. For the quarter the Lisbon Metropolitan Area was responsible for 42.1% of all transactions (12,461) worth €3.4Bn (+0.3%). The value of homes transacted in the north was around €1.9Bn, while in the centre region it stood at €1.1Bn.