Real estate will continue to grow by the end of 2018. Foreigners were the biggest investors

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The real estate agency JLL announced Wednesday the results of the study for the first half of this year on the real estate market, where it underlines that the market will continue to grow until the end of the year. In the report, entitled "Market 360%", the consultant points out that the performance and exceptional growth in this period was driven by the increase in investments (about 43% to € 1,473 million transacted), the strong activity in office and store occupancy and, finally, for the sale of houses.

JLL's general director, Pedro Lencastre, said in the statement that "it was a perfectly perfect first half of the year for the Portuguese real estate industry, not only because of the high flow of operations but also because we witnessed some of the biggest deals ever in the market".

The same report highlights the international role in the Portuguese real estate sector. Lusitanian cities are increasingly becoming a consolidated destination, both for investment and for the purchase of real estate, installation of new businesses and tourist occupations, according to the document.

Foreigners account for 98% of the volume of investments in the first half of the year, and their willingness to continue investing in Portugal continues to grow, especially given their liquidity and geographical diversification strategies. In the home, foreigners are also the main buyers (occupy 53% of sales) that dominate the premium housing transactions in Lisbon and Porto. The remaining 47% of the trade was made by Portuguese buyers who confirm the strong growth of the national market dynamics.

With regard to tourism, Algarve, Lisbon and especially Porto, key elements remain in attracting international tourists as well as investment, both for income and for hotel operations.

Real estate indicates that it anticipates an acceleration of market growth for the rest of the year, estimating that real estate investment can reach the mark of 3 billion euros transacted only in 2018. With this, the country will benefit from a very favourable combination of internal factors and external factors, including economic growth, increased risk on capital markets and the low return on more conservative investments, as well as good returns on other European markets, the statement said.