Price of houses in the historic center of Lisbon will have reached limit

Between January and June this year, the variation in house prices in the historic center of Lisbon was residual: they only increased by 0.1%, compared to the previous half, according to the Price Index of the Historic Center of Lisbon, prepared by Confidencial Real estate.

In the last six months of last year, there was a strong slowdown, with the semiannual rate of change falling to less than half (around 8.5 percentage points), as opposed to the 14.4% appreciation in the first half of 2017 .

This slowdown in the last two semesters translates into an abrupt reduction of the year-on-year rate of change, from 21.1% in the second half of 2017 to 6% in the first six months of this year.

The director of the real estate statistics firm, Ricardo Guimarães, has already said that it is "a return to normality", since growth rates of 20% are unsustainable in the long term.

Despite this slowdown, real estate prices in these three parishes remain at the highest level of the last ten years, being 68% above the values ​​of 2008. Considering the minimum market point during this period - the first half of 2013 - the appreciation more than doubled.

If the analysis is extended to the municipality of Lisbon, the annual appreciation exceeds 20% for nine consecutive semesters.

In the second quarter of this year, housing prices in the capital rose by 4.9% quarter on quarter. On the other hand, the increase was 21.5%.

Currently, the cost of housing in Lisbon is 58% above the values ​​of 2017 and more than doubled since 2013.

A new legislative package on housing and tenancy has been under discussion in the Assembly of the Republic. Regarding the Local Accommodation, the norm that suspends new registrations in areas such as Alfama, Mouraria, Castle, Madragoa, Bairro Alto, Chiado, Príncipe Real, Cais do Sodré, Santa Catarina, Bica, Santa Engrácia and Graça has already entered into force.