Portuguese news in the company of Ana Navarro Pedro, corresponding journalist in Paris for the Portuguese press and the prices of rents and housing which have been soaring for years and which have provoked major demonstrations in recent months.
European microphone and the issue of housing and real estate in Portugal, with Ana Navarro Pedro, Portuguese correspondent journalist in Paris, notably correspondent for the weekly Visao.
franceinfo: The Portuguese economy would not be doing so badly, but beware, is there a problem with real estate and housing in particular?
Ana Navarro Pedro: Yes, a huge problem. Moreover, the big demonstrations that you can see in Portugal in recent months are mainly because of the price of rents and housing. To give you an example, in Lisbon, now, for a rent of a 25 m² studio, it’s about 700 € and 30 m², it’s 800 €. The average salary is 1500 euros, minimum salary at 760 €. And in Portugal, we pay taxes, from the first euro earned. This means that housing, today, is the equivalent of 63 to 70% of Portuguese income. It is unbearable.
For the first time, we have families on the street, who are staying in hotels or with close families. But still, it’s a situation of people who work in a regular job, who are not marginalized. It is the middle class that bears the brunt of this situation. The purchase of real estate also becomes almost excessive. The Portuguese do not really like the rental market and prefer to have a small property portfolio.
Yes, except that there, if we compare with Brussels….
Yes, Brussels is cheaper than Lisbon, and salaries are not the same. Rome is cheaper than Lisbon.
The question also of real estate, for housing, is it the question of Airbnb?
Absolutely. So this is one of the measures that the government has taken. I give an example last year 2022, there are 10,000 foreigners who bought real estate. Out of 10,000 real estate purchases, we received about 4 billion. And all that is for seasonal rentals, tourism. And so the government has taken measures at this level. Now, vacation rental licenses are being given out bit by bit, or not given at all.
Only, the owners have the possibility, contrary to what happens in France, to terminate the contracts from one moment to another, when they want, and suddenly, they increase. And sometimes, of course, there are landlords who don’t even make a lease. They put people back on the streets whenever they want because there is no way to defend themselves.
Consequence: some immigrants leave Portugal…
Yes, especially American immigrants…
It must be explained that the Americans chose Portugal because there was security…
Some Americans were doing it for Social Security, because they could work and start getting Social Security, medical coverage and retirement, and then unemployment benefits. They used to call it the “California of Europe”, but now they’re leaving because they can’t afford the rent.
And then there is a second category of foreigners, including many Americans who no longer seek to come to Portugal, these are those who could benefit from golden visas. This is another flagship measure of the Portuguese government. They abolished the golden visas, that is to say the granting of visas for the country and therefore for Europe, in exchange for a purchase of real estate for example. So that was removed. But the problem is really Airbnb and the purchases of foreigners, including a lot of French people.
On the other hand, the Portuguese government, faced with the crisis, abolished VAT for basic necessities?
Absolutely, it has contributed enormously to bringing down the cost of living a little, inflation a little. The government also has a goal of bringing inflation down to 2.5% within three years. And that gave the families a bit of oxygen because there, it was untenable. So all basic necessities are now at zero rate. It has not been deleted, but it is at zero rate. It will be returned later. And for the rest, the economy is doing well. This year we may have the strongest growth in Europe, a little below 3%, thanks to tourism, 22 billion in revenue last year, and exports, 10% increase in exports…
What are exports?
Traditional things a little textiles, in fashion, but also a lot cork oak which is an extremely advanced industry today in Portugal, but also, for example, the bicycle. We are the leading exporting producer of bicycles in Europe…
So, for the moment, it’s the real estate crisis, the housing crisis, is the government tackling it?
He is working on it with all these measures, but a government measure is causing a scandal today, the government wants to requisition empty housing. In areas of high demand, there are severe shortages, and the government will force owners to put their empty apartments on the rental market, or to occupy them themselves, if after two years the empty apartments are not not busy.
On the other hand, how will the government have the means to observe, to make an inventory of fixtures concerning these accommodations and to impose these measures? That’s another pair of sleeves.