Verlingue promotes affordable housing contracts
At a time when construction costs and a lack of financial predictability are hindering the development of new housing in Portugal, insurance company Verlingue Portugal brought together some of the sector’s leading players at the 3rd edition of the Verlingue Expertise Session, which took place during the Portuguese Real Estate Show (SIL), at FIL, in Lisbon last month.
The event brought together leading entities such as Nexor, EY and Confidencial Imobiliário, as well as insurers, partners and media representatives, to discuss one of the sector’s most critical issues: the financial viability of real estate projects.
Following the opening session by Diogo Baptista, Head of New Business at Verlingue Portugal, the Director of Confidencial Imobiliário magazine, Ricardo Guimarães, presented an analysis of the market, highlighting a paradox: “despite the number of transactions remaining at high levels, close to the highs of the post-crisis period, Portugal continues to build significantly below the European average (about two-fifths of the eurozone) in a context of strong appreciation in housing prices”.
Data from Confidencial Imobiliário, a real estate development and housing market analysis firm, reinforces the scale of the problem: “construction costs are currently the main obstacle to real estate development, with a pressure index of 84%, surpassing bureaucracy for the first time.
The impact is direct on supply: approximately 59,000 planned housing units did not proceed due to a lack of economic viability.”
It was within this context that Verlingue Portugal presented its integrated risk management approach.
Eduardo Morais, Head of Risk Consultancy & Analysis at the brokerage, highlighted the importance of acting throughout the entire project lifecycle, differentiating protection strategies between new construction and rehabilitation.
In the Business Showcase, João Moreira, CEO of Nexor, emphasised access to housing in metropolitan areas as one of the main current challenges, highlighting the imbalance between supply and demand and the increasing pressure on prices.
In an increasingly demanding and complex context, ensuring predictability, protection, and financial stability is essential for the viability of sustainable and successful projects. This understanding allows for aligning expectations between the parties, simplifying processes, and guaranteeing a consistent level of protection for all stakeholders.
Similar to Nexor, Verlingue Portugal positions itself as an active agent in promoting more inclusive cities and a sustainable housing model, and for this reason, they have moved forward with the formalisation of an exclusive protocol on construction insurance conditions.
The session also included the presentation of the LevelUP | Tax Insurance solution, which aims to protect real estate projects against tax risks, including taxes, interest, penalties, and legal costs, in a conversation between Orlando Coutinho, Head of Credit & Surety Solutions at Verlingue Portugal, and Bruna Melo, Real Estate & International Tax Partner at EY.
The GroundUP solution was highlighted as a response to risk mitigation in the initial phases of projects, namely in protecting buyer advances against defaults, presented by Luís Costa, Head of Technical Lines & Complex Claims at the brokerage.
These solutions are part of Verlingue Portugal’s RISE HUB, a business innovation ecosystem focused on developing specialised solutions to emerging risks for micro-enterprises, SMEs, and startups, combining technical knowledge, analytical capacity, and market proximity.
With the 3rd edition of the Verlingue Expertise Session, the brokerage reinforces its position as a strategic partner in the real estate development sector, promoting risk management, innovation, and social responsibility, and actively contributing to the development of a more solid and sustainable market.
