Century 21 said in a statement that revenue was 48.6 million euros, up 17% from a year earlier, while sales volume was 1,767 million euros, about 3% more than announced a year ago.

The company, which does not report net results, brokered 8,830 transactions in the first six months of the year, 71% of which were to domestic clients.

Major international buyers include the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands.

The average sales price fell by 4% year-on-year in the first six months, to 190,429 euros. This drop illustrates the “impact of the restriction of the purchasing power of the Portuguese”.

According to the agency, buyers are rethinking their criteria for selecting a home, giving up size (they are opting for smaller homes) and choosing other parts of the city or other locations on the outskirts of the city.

Challenges

Century 21 states that Portugal is facing “a structural problem” among the challenges for the sector. It also highlights two measures in the government’s programme that require “a broad consensus and commitment” between parties and municipalities: the expansion and modernisation of urban mobility and the revision of the General Regulation for Urban Buildings and municipal master plans.

As regards the exemption from IMT and stamp duty and the government guarantee for the financing of the first home for young people aged 35, the real estate company believed that these do not fully solve the problems of young people.

“Let’s be realistic: the real barrier to the acquisition of real estate by young Portuguese goes much further than taxes. Low income and the uncertainty of first jobs are much more important obstacles, which tax exemption does not solve,” says the Executive President of Century21 Portugal, Ricardo Sousa.

“It is crucial to be able to increase the supply of real estate, especially in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve,” he defended