Portuguese Housing Market Survey

“Confidencial Imobiliário’s new Housing Transactions Index showed, in May, a 23% monthly increase in the number of sales. After decreasing more than 50%, market activity is starting to recover, benefiting from the progressive defreezing of society. This trend is also reflected in agents’ market sentiment, with expectations remaining cautious, but becoming less pessimistic about the future. Nevertheless, several comments emphasise the still high levels of uncertainty at present.” 

“GDP data shows the Portuguese economy contracted by 3.8% in Q1, reflecting the impact of the pandemic in the final month of the quarter. The economy’s performance in Q2 will be much weaker still, although the easing in social distancing measures more recently should mean a recovery is now underway. This chimes with the slightly less downbeat tone to the latest survey results, even if sentiment remains generally cautious given the current backdrop.”