According to the study, the hotel sector was the “star” of real estate investment in 2023 in the national territory, followed by the retail market, which managed to capture 35% of the total of this type of investment, that is, €550m.

According to CBRE, Lisbon gained 20 new hotels last year, mostly four stars and around 2,000 rooms, with another 20 units planned for 2024, with 2,000 rooms.

On the other hand, the consultancy indicates that ten new hotels will open in Porto in 2023, mostly five-star and with around 1,000 rooms, predicting the opening of another 15 new hotels in 2024.

In the retail market, in 2023, the analysis highlights that three retail parks were opened and 93 stores were opened in Lisbon and 67 in Porto.


Real estate investment decreased by around 50% compared to 2022

Although the hotel industry will be considered the leader in 2023 when it comes to real estate investment, the study notes that “high-interest rates, together with fears of an economic recession, have led to a significant decline in real estate investment volumes at a global level”, a trend that Portugal did not escape: in 2023 the country attracted a total investment of 1.6 billion euros, a decrease of around 50% compared to the previous year.

The study points out that “the strong investment activity observed since 2015 has mainly targeted the office and shopping center sectors, although interest has diversified to other asset classes”. As mentioned, “the greater acceptance of risk has attracted the interest of several investors in other operational assets, such as hotels, student residences and healthcare”.

In the case of Portugal, CBRE and VdA indicate that “the slowdown in investment activity has not been motivated by the operational performance of assets, but is mainly motivated by an overly cautious approach on the part of investors”.

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Ben Lynch