Investment in commercial real estate in Portugal reached €64o mln in H1 2022, 15% down on the same period last year, according to JLL, with hotels and logistics accounting for 66% of the total.
In Q2 2022 alone, investment totalled €436 mln, with hotels and logistics responsible for 84% of that sum.
During the quarter, two five-star hotels in the centre of Lisbon and another in Cascais, in addition to a four-star unit in Porto and a five-star unit in Algarve were added, for a total of 255 rooms and 533 beds.
Portuguese and international investors, mainly from the US, UK and Germany, divided the residential market 50/50.
Pedro Lencastre, CEO of JLL Portugal, said: ‘The outlook for the coming quarters remains positive with the focus on the segments that have had the highest demand in terms of volume. We believe that 2022 will surpass the amount transacted last year. There are currently many portfolios already in the sales process and others in the negotiation phase. One of the main challenges of the Portuguese real estate market continues to be the limitations on the supply side, transversal to all segments. There is a strong increase in construction costs and it is natural that planned new products suffer adjustments, further affecting the flow of available supply.’
In the office segment, H1 take up in Lisbon reached 168,000 m2, surpassing the annual take-up of 2021, with financial services companies leading the way. Around 260,000 m2 of offices are under construction, 61% of which are expected to be certified at sustainability level.
In Porto, the H1 take-up reached 30,300 m2, surpassing the same period of the last three years, with TMT's and utilities leading demand. Currently there are 81.100 m2 of new offices under construction in Porto, with 19.500 m2 of office space concluded in Q2 2022.
The scarcity of supply continues to be one of the main problems in the retail segment, with some buildings in central Lisbon under renovation, adding new spaces to the market.
The industrial & logistics segment observed a occupancy of 160,000 m2 in H1, of which 77,000 m2 in Q2, of which 58% occupancy in the Lisbon region.
Projects in the pipeline and under construction include those on the Alverca-Azambuja axis (115,000 m2), in Palmela/Setúbal (30,000 m2) and along the Montijo-Alcochete axis (14,000 m2).
