Porto entered the international radar. And it won't go away

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Porto has become an attractive city for tourism, but also for living and working. Proof of this is the dynamics that the real estate sector has registered in the various segments and that is proven by the study Market 360º Porto, of the consultancy JLL. One of the areas that are in strong transformation is the offices, which has projected an increase of about 170 thousand square meters. "We have taken the step of internationalization, we have made ourselves known to the world, people want to go back, live, work - there's no turning back," says Maria Empis, director of JLL. "There are very active multinationals looking for a place to settle and they are willing to wait a year or two for the culmination of the process," he said. The "very fast" demand for companies is a reality, but the market is without an immediate response. Why? According to the JLL study; "No office building has been developed for almost ten years" and, therefore, "the inadequacy of the quality of today's supply to the requirements of the new occupants is evident."

Between 2016 and the third quarter of 2018, the entry of new companies and the expansion of others already present in the market represented 65% of the total occupied (estimated more than 120 thousand square meters occupied in this period), advance the study. The most active were technological companies, with more than 47% of total absorption. In the first half of this year and based on JLL transactions, 59% of home sales were bought by Portuguese. Brazilians stand out in the purchase of a house in Invicta (35% of the purchases made by foreigners), followed by South Africans (20%), French (16%), Israelites (12%) and Britons (7%). The Historic Center of Porto and Foz remain as premium zones. Rehabilitation of the edification is another of the boiling areas. Rua de Santa Catarina is the must for the mass market brands, the Clérigos area is growing, very driven by tourism, and the batteries are now pointing to Avenida dos Aliados, where luxury hotel units are emerging, and which could become a prime shopping area.