Rodolfo Alexandre Reis, a Belgian investor, confirms that there are “many groups investing massively in the country”. Long-term leasing is the bet. “I don’t see the real estate market in Portugal dead at all.” This statement comes from Claude Kandiyoti, in statements to Jornal Económico (JE), when asked about when the sector might begin to react to the crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic. The CEO of Krest Real Estate admits he doesn’t know what the future holds, but currently, “there is still a lot of money and many groups investing massively in the country.”

The problem for the Belgian investor lies in the banking system, which is not willing to provide large financing for the development of the sector. However, on the other hand, they finance individuals who want to buy a house or invest in real estate but not for development purposes. “We have to find a balance; however, I don’t know how it will be done,” he emphasizes.

The CEO of Krest looks at a world living in uncertainty due to the pandemic, an uncertainty that is not good for business. Regarding the real estate market, he believes the main problem will be in the residential market and how to make it accessible to the people who will be most affected by this crisis, those from lower classes, since the market does not have available products for them. “We will have to create a new type of residences for a market that we do not know well in Portugal, which is long-term leasing,” he highlights.

Thus, the rental market will be the CEO’s big bet, especially in areas outside of Lisbon, where prices “are inaccessible and will not go down yet.” “People want similar or larger spaces for two-thirds of the price and are therefore ready to leave the city and move to a new environment,” he stresses. Still, in the residential market, the CEO indicates that in European markets, there is a boom, with people rushing to buy apartments with large areas because they want to live in spaces with balconies. “Lisbon has few homes with balconies, and people suffered a lot confined in their homes during the lockdown,” he emphasizes.

Regarding new projects, besides Jardim de Miraflores with three towers of 490 apartments, the CEO of Krest has two projects starting in the Algarve by the end of the year, one in Forte Novo, scheduled for 2023, and another in Vilamoura, which will be completed by mid-2024, both in the residential segment. In Porto, a mixed residential and office project is underway in Campanhã. Another project, named “Village Garden,” located in Alcochete, will take some more time to develop.

One of the main changes that the pandemic brought was the adoption of telecommuting and with it, the absence of workplaces, particularly offices that may undergo remodeling. “Currently, no one can take a position on how they will work, but in six months, we may have a clearer idea because today no one knows how people will work. Will they be in the office two days and three at home, or vice versa? Will they completely stop working in their workplaces?” Claude Kandiyoti questions, revealing some trends emerging in this segment, such as advertising companies that have reduced or completely abandoned their workplaces, moving to coworking spaces to have more flexibility and understand how things evolve.

The CEO presents figures on the office market in Portugal. “The take-up until August was 97 thousand m2, 28% less than the previous year. A total of 16 thousand m2 were put on the market. Demand dropped from 115 thousand m2 to a total of 60 thousand m2. These are low numbers, but it does not mean that in six months, we cannot return to a certain ‘normality,’ where companies will seek larger spaces but with fewer workers,” he says. But are the Portuguese willing and eager to return to their workplaces? The Krest executive says he doesn’t know if the Portuguese want to return to their workplaces. “I’m not sure about that, but I believe many do not want to return. What I do know is that the Portuguese mentality is not prepared for this way of living,” he stresses.

The CEO also looks at the tourism sector, which has also suffered from the pandemic, citing the example of his hotel in Parque das Nações, Lisbon, whose opening in September was canceled. “In Lisbon, 98% of the people who visit the city are foreigners. We are thinking of opening it in January 2021, with the idea that it will not be fully operational until at least mid-2022. Opening a new hotel now would create more problems for us than keeping it closed,” he concludes.