Portugal needs to build 45,000 houses a year to solve the housing crisis.

It is necessary to build 45,000 homes annually to address the "serious issues of the housing stock in the country," acknowledges the Association of Builders and Public Works (AICCOPN). This is 13,000 more than were built in 2023. This urgency seems to have found a response in the Government's program presented last Wednesday. At least, that is what the industry hopes for. Manuel Reis Campos, president of AICCOPN, believes that the announced measures "address the identified needs." In his opinion, their implementation "will be a strong incentive for housing construction and, thus, a quick response" to the housing crisis. However, there are also prickly questions.

Bento Aires:

An expert in real estate and a lecturer at the Portuguese business school, the PSD-CDS-PP program offers "conditions for increasing housing production," but "seems insufficient to address the problem we are facing." As he points out, "it is clearly stated at the beginning of the housing chapter that previous policies have failed, and I am not sure that new policies will be able to avoid this." In his opinion, the government has focused "more on the issue of access to housing in quantitative terms, rather than on the quality of the existing housing stock."

Paul Caillado:

The President of the Association of Professionals and Real Estate Intermediaries in Portugal (APEMIP) notes that the program represents "a very important contribution to addressing the housing issue in Portugal."

The government of Luis Montenegro has presented new commitments in several areas. To increase supply, the creation of public-private partnerships for the construction and major renovation of student housing and large-scale housing is planned, along with the promotion of new housing concepts such as "build to rent" and modular construction. The program also includes flexibility in land use restrictions and urban density (including high-rise construction), as well as the possibility of expanding urban perimeters and other measures. They also acknowledge the difficulties faced by young people in accessing their own housing and promise support for purchasing first homes by providing state guarantees for bank financing of the full purchase price, along with exemptions from IMT and stamp duty.

Overall, the program is essentially a plan of intentions without a timeline for implementation or cost assessment of the activities, which sets it apart ideologically from the previous housing policy of the PS. With all this, the Government hopes to increase the supply of affordable housing in both the rental and purchase markets.