In 2021, the number of homes sold in resorts rose 70% compared to the previous year, surpassing the activity recorded in 2019 by 30%.
The figures are now published in the report “Portuguese Resorts Market Report”, produced by Confidencial Imobiliário in partnership with the Portuguese Association of Residential Tourism and Resorts (APR), which also shows that the prices of these homes rose 16% compared to 2020. one of the most significant increases since 2016, surpassed only by the 18.3% increase at the end of 2018, when the Brexit deal was approved.
For about a year and a half, the prices of this type of real estate have been on a recovery path, and even during the confinement of 2021 they rose 8.6% year-on-year. The 2nd semester of 2021 marked the third consecutive semester with positive chain changes, registering the biggest monthly increase in the series ever, of 13%.
The 70% growth in the number of transactions exceeds the 2019 results by 30%, and the evolution of sales was «especially expressive» in the Albufeira-Loulé axis, which concentrates 51% of the national market, where the level of activity more than doubled compared to 2020, and was 70% above 2019. Last year, the average sale price of housing in resorts reached 4,205 euros/square meter in the country as a whole and 4,848 euros/square meter in this Algarve axis.
Pedro Fontainhas, Executive Director of APR, highlights that “the results of this report confirm the growing trend, which the pandemic has accentuated, of demand for housing in resorts in Portugal with outdoor space, privacy, security, connectivity, support services and proximity to the nature. This trend is visible through the growing demand by customers of the most diverse nationalities, including Portuguese. The growing demand will be accompanied by plenty of supply as several investments are underway in residential tourism projects in Portugal».
Ricardo Guimarães, Director of Ci, points out that “the SIR – Resorts information system is increasingly asserting itself as a key instrument in monitoring this market, once again allowing for visibility of observed valuation and sales trends. The resort market is another one of the sectors with a strong performance in 2021, showing that the national residential market remains competitive and attractive in a transversal way, emerging reinforced from the pandemic crisis».
Prices reach 10,000 euros/m² Albufeira-Loulé
Last year, houses integrated into resorts available for sale in the country registered an average value of 4,418 euros/m², reaching 8,374 euros/m² in the highest range of the market.
On the Albufeira-Loulé axis, where 43% of the country's supply is located, the average sale price reached 5,151 euros/m², and 10,064 euros/m² in the luxury segment, a level «never before recorded in the resort market», according to the report.
The average offer price on this axis is 27% to 51% above other locations in the country.
Britons lose share in the Algarve, and lead on the Atlantic Coast
In the second year of the pandemic, “important fluctuations in the structure of international demand for resorts” were recorded, with buyers from the United Kingdom continuing to dominate the market in Albufeira-Loulé, generating 42% of purchases made by foreigners, but losing out. expression compared to the 50% share of previous years.
According to the report, «this loss of share takes place in the context of greater activity in other European countries, especially the Netherlands (12% of purchases by foreigners in this location), Ireland (9%), Germany, France and Switzerland (5% to 6% quotas)'.
On the other hand, the British are more active on the Atlantic Coast, and they were the foreigners who had the most weight in transactions, with 20% of the total on the Alentejo Coast, Lisbon and West Coast, whereas in previous years their share had not exceeded 5%.
In these markets, German, Spanish and North American generate 15% of international sales (each), in addition to the Lebanese with 10%.
Expectations are the most optimistic since 2017
The results reflect the improvement in the situation, with the progressive control of the pandemic and the conclusion of the Brexit process, which mitigated uncertainties. The good performance of the market boosted the expectations of professionals operating in this sector, and it was only in 2017 that operators were more optimistic about the future of sales and prices, according to the Resort Market Survey, a reliable survey carried out by Ci in partnership with the APR.
The Expectations Index, which combines expectations regarding the evolution of prices and sales, reached 66% in the 2nd half of 2021, and only in the 2nd half of 2017 did it register a higher percentage, of 78%.
Font: Vida Imobiliária
