Investment in Portugal’s property market set to reach record high in 2017

The volume of investment in Portugal’s commercial property market could hit an all-time high of €2bn (£1.7bn) this year, up from around €1.3bn (£1.1bn) in 2016, according to the Portugal division of Cushman & Wakefield.

The property consultancy has witnessed a strong start to the year as far as activity levels in the commercial property investment sector is concerned, according to the firm’s managing director for Portugal, Eric van Leuven.

At a presentation in Lisbon of Cushman & Wakefield’s 2016 results and the outlook for 2017, van Leuven said that the rise was owed in part to the fact that some of the large deals that were expected to be completed at the tail end of last year were delayed, and so are set to be completed this year, which should help 2017 beat the 2015 total of €1.9bn (£1.62bn) - which is the highest ever.

The average value of transaction for investment was €31m (£26.6m) in 2016, which is marginally lower than the level recorded in 2015, partly because investors are more cautions following the Brexit vote, according to van Leuven.

Van Leuven said that Portugal-based investors accounted for 18% of the total volume of investment.

By segment, the office sector attracted 48% of total investment, followed by retail at 45%, while industrial property accounted for just 3%.