'Sweden's immigration crisis is bypassing Portugal'

The number of homes sold in the Swedish market continues to decline, with 13,800 houses and 23,000 apartments sold between May and July, a drop of 12% compared to the same period last year, according to data from broker Svensk Mäklarsamfundet. That is alarming to analysts, who recall the crisis in Sweden in the 1990s that took a toll on the financial system.

The situation in Portugal, however, is different: "We are far from a mirror. We don't expect a downturn in real estate in the coming years," says Hugo Santos Ferreira, president of the Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors (APPII), in an interview with Lusa.

Economist and ISEG lecturer Joao Duque also notes that since the beginning of last year there has been an''Portugal),'" Duque says.

At the same time, statistics show that the transaction market is "slowing sharply across Europe," he notes, citing data from a sample of 14 European countries provided by Eurostat, according to which 13 markets are experiencing declines in the first quarter that range from -50% in Finland to -8% in Bulgaria, with Portugal experiencing a 25% decline in residential real estate transactions. "The environment is changing in Europe.

Duquet notes that "real estate investment in Europe''appear to be in recession', as 'in addition to the housing market declining in both prices and transactions, economic activity is contracting, which does not bode well for demand for commercial space or offices', plus 'the restructuring process that many companies may undertake due to the increasingly established work from home'.

Therefore, economist and New SBE lecturer Pedro Brinca, despite noting a "correction in international markets", as in the case of Sweden, believes that Portugal is still an exception. "It doesn't surprise me that the price correction is not the same as in countries like New Zealand, Canada, Portugal and others," he said.

Hugo Santos Ferreira emphasizes that the recent''Data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows that "house prices [in Portugal] continue to rise, although valuations have fallen", which is already "the difference with Sweden". "We still have an unbalanced market, with a lot of demand and little supply," he emphasizes, noting that "it is important not to let assets depreciate".

The APPII president argues that if assets start to depreciate, as has happened in Sweden - which he believes will not happen - family ownership decreases, economic, financial and banking risk increases, and foreign direct investment (FDI) decreases.

Despite the crisis in the real estate market in Sweden, Pedro Brinca believes the country has the tools to solve the problem:'''Sweden has the ability to intervene in the sector to solve any problems in the financial sector, as well as its own currency. This gives them other means that Portugal does not have,'' he said.