Luxury real estate buying has been buoyant during the first
half of 2022, which suggests that this type of investment is a haven for
high-income families against inflation, which hit 8.9% in August. Everything
indicates, therefore, that the demand for luxury homes will continue to rise,
concludes a report by Christie’s International Real Estate.
In an analysis of luxury real estate, the international real
estate network concludes that the market is at an “important point of
maturation after an unprecedented year of 2021 and a very dynamic first half of
2022”, reads the publication. This means that two years after the initial shock
of the pandemic, the premium real estate market will reach a moment of stabilisation
and gradually return to “normal levels”, similar to 2019.
“In 2021, we had the highest turnover ever for the company
and 2022 has been a very positive and dynamic year, with a sharp growth of 65%
(in sales and leases) compared to last year, where sales have a special focus”,
notes Rafael Ascenso, general director of Porta da Frente Christie's, the
brand's representative in the Greater Lisbon and Alentejo regions, quoted in
the document.
Growing demand
The demand for high-end properties is growing. And “the
number of real estate transactions in the mid-high and high segment in the
first half of the year proved that investing in so-called 'hard assets' can be
one of the best options against inflation”, say experts from Christie's
International Real Estate. This is because many high income and wealthy
families are now concerned about the possibility of a short-term recession and
see the residential real estate sector as a “fundamental safeguard”, a
“valuable hedge against inflation”.
“For those who have savings available today, there is no
better solution than withdrawing money from the bank and investing in real
estate. Let's imagine an investor or family with one million euros available,
with an inflation of 7%, will lose 5,000 euros per month if they don't invest
this amount in a profitable asset. The same happens with foreigners who have
the same problem of inflation and who find in Portugal a mature real estate
market at a much lower price than their countries of origin”, adds Rafael
Ascenso.