Real estate attracts 26 thousand investors in one year

This article is an abbreviated version of the original. To read the full article go here.

There are more and more Portuguese people trying to profit from the real estate boom. And the investment funds that invest in the sector have a strong demand from the investors. Within one year, the number of participants in real estate investment funds attracted more than 26 thousand investors. Real estate prices have increased rapidly in housing and in the commercial segment there has been a recovery. This is at a time when most financial investments yield almost 0%.

"What explains the interest in these savings solutions is relatively simple: profitability", explains Pedro Coelho, administrator of Square, manager responsible for CA Património Crescente, the largest Portuguese fund in the sector, with a portfolio valued at 565 million euros. Nearly 4% gains Square said that "after real estate investment funds went through the first half of the decade when they were counting on the fingers of a hand those who had positive returns, at the moment the great majority is again with attractive returns, especially considering the current scenario of 0% interest rates and stock market volatility."

The recovery in the price of real estate has allowed gains in this type of products. Open income funds have yielded an average yield of 3.94% in the last 12 months, according to the most recent data from the Portuguese Association of Investment Funds, Pensions and Assets (APFIPP) for May. In the category of open-end accumulation funds, the average return is 2.49%. Despite this recovery, in the accumulated of the last three years, the return is almost nil. The recent recovery helps explain investors' interest in these products. The rise over the last 12 months has led to a growing number of real estate fund participants. At the end of March, the most recent figures released by the Securities Market Commission pointed to 87,500 participants, the highest figure since the end of 2012. Pedro Coelho predicts that the number will continue to grow. "It will not be long before the barrier of the 100,000 investors passes again", estimates. (...)