Review of 2024

Generally speaking, estate agents confirm that 2024 was a year of rises. Alfredo Valente, CEO of iad Portugal, told idealista that “In the first half of the year, still under the influence of inflation and high interest rates, the market showed a downturn, and the agency followed this trend, recording a 2 per cent decrease in the volume of transactions and turnover.” However, in the second half of 2024, the trend was different, and there was a 32 per cent increase in transactions and a “29 per cent increase in turnover.”

Rui Torgal, CEO of ERA Portugal, says that 2024 was the best year for the property market in Portugal. There was a 12 per cent increase in closed deals compared to 2023, and turnover grew by 22 per cent. The same growth is mentioned by Marco Tairum, CEO of KW Portugal to idealista/news, who revealed that “more than 72 per cent of the commissions charged to clients were handed over to the consultants, and their business grew by more than 35 per cent compared to last year.”

In the words of its chairman, Manuel Alvarez, Remax Portugal says that “2024 was a year of all-time records”, an opinion corroborated by Luís Nunes, general director of ComprarCasa, who reveals that despite the challenges inherent in the year, 2024 turned out to be “extraordinary.”

In general, all the agencies saw their turnover increase, as stated by Daniela Rebouta, sales director at E&V Lisboa Oeiras, Setúbal, who claims to have had a total revenue of over one billion euros. In the same vein, Ricardo Sousa, CEO of Century 21 Portugal, says that the company “saw turnover increase by 31 per cent.”

What are the results due to?

Although there are no rigorous explanations for the increase in demand for real estate agency business in Portugal, Daniela Rebouta says that the focus on artificial intelligence and the opening of new shops may have explained the increase in demand for E&V’s services in the Lisbon and Setúbal districts. Rui Torgal, in a way, shares Daniela Rebouta’s view, as he says that investment in technology and the opening of new branches may have increased turnover.

Alfredo Valente points to public investment guarantees for younger buyers as an explanation for the increase in transactions.

Challenges for 2025

Despite the improvement in the market in 2024, estate agents believe that 2025 could prove challenging, although they feel confident about overcoming any obstacles that may arise.

Alfredo Valente says that the market “continues to be conditioned by a shortage of supply”, but Rui Torgal believes that only “a significant international event” could affect the stable growth of the property sector. Marco Tairum also believes that the international political and economic situation could bring risks to Europe, particularly to the property sector, which “faces a challenge in terms of regulation and transparency.” Luís Nunes also believes that the current political situation means that companies in the property sector need to be more attentive, although he believes that growth similar to that of 2024 is on the horizon.

Paulo Abrantes, managing director of the DS Group, says that “understanding the evolution of the price curve and the impact of AI will be some of the most important challenges.” Manuel Alvarez believes that the main challenge is to increase supply, above all in terms of affordable housing for all buyers.