Factors such as economic performance, availability of assets and attraction of talent contributed to Lisbon’s rise three places in the list of 30 cities analyzed in a study by consultancy firms PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). This puts Lisbon ahead of cities such as Frankfurt, Barcelona, Hamburg, Brussels and Vienna and many others.
After rising interest rates and inflation between 2022 and 2023, European investors are now looking for some normalization of the sector in 2024. Despite ongoing uncertainty, including two wars in Europe’s vicinity, involving the European Union on a macro-economic and geopolitical level, it is time to adjust new reality.
Investors and their partners adjust and evaluate these new facts about interest rates and inflation with a clear outlook for stabilization and a better assessment of risk factors. Although these factors may remain elevated in 2024, cycles come and go, and global economic history has already seen periods of significant uncertainty that ultimately lead to new opportunities for many investors.
The study presents a new point of reference for evaluating and predicting real estate investment decisions from 2024. So how did Lisbon earn eighth place in this key ranking for the real estate market in Portugal and Europe?
Lisbon has shown unwavering and growing appeal for international investors for 2024, rising from sixteenth to eighth place, nearly doubling international interest in real estate investment in the region in just three years. Lisbon thus became an important center of economic development in this part of Europe.
The creation of legal conditions and a housing policy that will at the same time help solve the biggest problem of our society, the housing shortage, would now be essential. The study highlights that Lisbon’s performance, availability of assets and ability to attract talent were factors of paramount importance in the assessment. However, the capital is gaining even more importance in terms of real estate promotion and development.
The disadvantage is the lack of housing for rent, as Portugal excels only in the residential sector for sale. Unlike Portugal, affordable and social housing as a commercial real estate investment product is a strong and robust sector in the rest of Europe, with private and public investors hand in hand.
Another crucial aspect is ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and the growing importance that investors attach to this criterion. Today, it is a prerequisite that must be met before investment decisions for 2024, as this study highlights. Many international investors argue that those who do not meet sustainability targets, such as decarbonising the construction and operation of buildings, will find it difficult to continue in business.
Paulo Lopes is a multi-talented Portuguese citizen who obtained a Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law in Lusófona in Lisbon – CEO of the company Casaiberia in Lisbon and the Algarve.