"The price of houses results from having done something extraordinary, which is to have placed Portuguese land on the international market," said José Manuel Félix Ribeiro, in an interview with Lusa.

According to the economist and university professor, the "land complex" is currently the dominant sector of the Portuguese economy, encompassing, in this designation, everything related to construction, real estate, and tourism (hotels, resorts, golf, etc.).

For Félix Ribeiro, what happened was that Portugal "entered the radar" of major global operators seeking land for middle-class housing (to live in or invest in).

Even the construction sector, which traditionally served the domestic market, began serving the global middle class.

With this, he stated, Portuguese land became highly valued, leading to a significant increase in its price, first for family homes.

"This changes the comparison and explains the increase in housing prices. Because land became valued due to its internationalisation," he said.

In this context, wages do not keep pace because "everything is disjointed, the economy is not functioning in an integrated way."

Asked whether he believes the gap between housing and labour prices can be resolved, the economist considered it difficult and stated that state intervention is necessary.

"It has to be partly through state intervention. This could include getting involved in the capitalisation of Social Security and also putting itself at the service of housing," he proposed.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the median price of houses sold increased by 16.6% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025. Between July and September of last year, the median price in Portugal was €2,111 per square meter.

When questioned about the government’s labour reform proposal, the economist replied, "What is holding back the Portuguese economy is not wages, but the financial system."

According to Félix Ribeiro, the financial system in Portugal is mainly based on commercial banking (which, he said, finances land–housing, real estate and construction) and lacks a capital market to support the change in the Portuguese productive structure.