"The market’s fundamentals are all here"

JLL Portugal‘s CEO spoke to VI during the segment Conversas Diárias – Especial Covid-19 (Daily Talks – Special Covid-19), stating that «we remain positive», at a time when «what changed the most was uncertainty. Deals were being carried out naturally, the offer was high and demand was much higher still. International investors were here, all the segments were very dynamic and, all of a sudden, a cloud of uncertainty took over». Now, «it is harder to plan our lives in the mid and the long-term because we don’t know when this will be over».

Hoping that «there are no truly losing segments», Pedro Lancastre doesn’t hide that the darkest cloud is hovering over the commercial and hotel segments and that the remaining segments «should go back to normal faster».

He is confident that the office segment will remain dynamic, because «there is a significant pipeline which will reach the market, and many companies will want to keep coming to Portugal». And he identified here «a very big opportunity, we may become the new Dublin, attracting large multinational companies. The ones which are already here, have had good results and want to expand their operations».

On the other hand, JLL’s experience has also been good in the housing segment, even during the pandemic: «we have maintained a good sales dynamic. As time goes by, we feel the market coming back, slowly. This may have been the least affected market, in particular, the segment we work with». And he highlights that «there are many people interested in obtaining a «golden visa» until the end of the year, with the uncertainty that hovers over the instrument. I hope it comes back to be one of the recovery’s catalysts after this difficult period», he concluded.

Pedro Lancastre does not risk making predictions on the market’s recovery, but «we know we will get through» the crisis. «We have a solid country, which is not that small. Our reputation improved during this period. In the same way that some companies or segments will not hold, some countries will take the opportunity, and we hope that Portugal is one of them. People trust in our players, the transparency of our market, and with interest rates being so low, people can see that real estate is the market to invest in».