Slack demand pushes down property prices in Portugal

Prices, activity and confidence have fallen further, according to the latest RICS/Ci Portuguese Housing Market Survey.

Its April statistics show price falls have decelerated in Lisbon but gathered momentum in Porto and the Algarve.

Weakening demand is the main factor pushing down on prices at the national level.

Meanwhile, agents are experiencing much sharper price declines than developers.

The national activity index fell a further 6 points to -32, while the national confidence index declined by 2 points to -53.

RICS Senior Economist, Josh Miller said: "The Portuguese housing market can be characterised by falling prices, falling activity and depressed confidence. This is set against a wider economic backdrop of accelerating inflation (4%), elevated unemployment (11.1%) and a shrinking economy (-0.7% in Q1). Unsurprisingly, these factors are weighing heavily on the demand side of the equation; supply - either in terms of rising new vendor instructions or excessive building - is not presently an issue."

source: investortoday.co.uk

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