PORTUGAL TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS Contributed by: Francisco Lino Dias, Ricardo Reigada Pereira, Sofia Nogueira Leite and Tamara Martins da Fonseca, PLMJ
ment of a portfolio of 12 Continente supermar - kets (EUR150 million), and (iv) the sale of BPlanet (Barreiro) by Am Alpha to Redevco, which con - sisted of the largest transaction in Portugal over one single retail park. A growing interest in hotels was reinforced by investors, with transactions in the tourism sec - tor accounting for 23% of the total investment value. One of the most significant transactions in this sector was the sale of the Conrad Algarve Hotel for approximately EUR100 million. The office sector accounted for 16% of the total invested amount, with a volume of EUR220 mil - lion. In this context, prime yields remained con - sistent and there was a significant increase in office occupation in Lisbon and Oporto, as well as a slight increase in rents in prime areas. Following a 20% decrease in sales in 2023, the housing market began to recover in the second quarter of 2024: sales increased by 7% and sale prices by 12%. So-called alternative assets accounted for 10% of the total investment, with a growing appetite for the student housing market. Lastly, industrial and logistics accounted for only 5% of the total invested amount (EUR60 million), reflecting a lack of supply. There is a persistent high demand for student accommodation, attracting private operators and encouraging public investment in the sector. Private operators are expected to launch several projects in the coming years to meet student accommodation supply needs, including Nido Alta de Lisboa, delivering 640 beds, and The Social Hub in Carcavelos (Lisbon) and Bonjar - dim (Oporto), totalling an additional 840 beds.
The market continues to prioritise properties based on location, quality and ESG certifica - tion. In this context, tenants and investors are increasingly willing to pay a green premium for more sustainable assets. This trend is further fuelled by the rise in European-level regula - tions, leading to a surge in demand for certifica - tion programmes such as BREEAM, LEED and WELL. The Portuguese Real Estate Legal Ecosystem Housing remained the hot topic in Portuguese real estate in 2024. The Portuguese Government identified the housing crisis as one of the main pillars for intervention and allocated a substan - tial portion of funds to address this issue. New Legislation Housing Following the approval in the last quarter of 2023 of the “Mais Habitação” ( “More Housing” ) pro - gramme – a set of structural measures to tackle the housing crisis in Portugal – the newly elect - ed Portuguese Government presented “New Housing Strategy” , which consists of legislative measures to amend and repeal measures of the “Mais Habitação” programme. In particular, the Portuguese Government approved (i) the repeal of the compulsory rental of vacant dwellings and (ii) the extension of the application of the extraor - dinary rent support scheme to lease agreements concluded after 15 March 2023, in cases where the previous agreement was terminated at the initiative of the landlord and the current agree - ment concerns the same tenant and property. More recently, the Parliament approved Decree- Law 48-A/2024 of 25 July, which exempts young people up to the age of 35 from paying Munici - pal Property Transfer Tax (IMT) and stamp duty when purchasing their first permanent residence. Exemptions and reductions in the fees payable
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