Zome brought together sector experts in a Meet Up to discuss the pressing challenges of national real estate and present innovative proposals to make housing more accessible. This was the first in a cycle of talkswhich the company will hold throughout 2024, to celebrate the brand’s fifth anniversary.
Patrícia Santos, CEO of Zome, was the moderator of the meeting that included a panel composed of Márcia Passos, a lawyer specializing in the real estate sector and former PSD deputy, Bernardo Matos de Pinho, executive administrator of Tecnoplano, and Patrícia Barão, deputy -president of APEMIP, president of the management committee of JLL and director of WIRE Portugal.
Zome’s CEO highlighted the growing housing crisis in the country, especially in large urban centers such as Lisbon and Porto. She presented alarming data, revealing that 56.4% of family expenses in 2022 were directed towards housing, with more than 25% of available income compromised. Furthermore, there has been a significant increase in house prices in recent years, mainly affecting young people, eight out of ten of whom still live with their parents. Portugal is one of the countries where new generations leave their parents’ home later. Also in terms of demographic and social analysis, the majority of households are made up of one or two people, with the most offered housing types being T3.
One of the central concerns was the average time to build a house, which is currently 23 months, highlighting the need for long-term solutions. Patrícia Santos emphasized that current policies are not aligned with market needs and defended a holistic and integrated approach, considering planning and territorial cohesion.
Márcia Passos, with political experience in the sector, highlighted the importance of tax reforms to facilitate access to housing, proposing measures such as tax exemption for young first-time home buyers and State support in financing young people when purchasing their first home. Bernardo de Pinho highlighted the challenges faced by the construction sector and the need for tax reductions to encourage investments in housing. In turn, Patrícia Barão defended the investment in public-private partnerships to provide more housing, in order to take advantage of the public park, which is very extensive and mostly vacant, which could return to the market, to provide homes for the Portuguese, an opinion corroborated by remaining speakers.
At the same time, issues such as innovation in construction methodologies, real estate consultancy and sector regulation were discussed, with participants agreeing on the need for a collaborative and long-term approach to face the challenges of the real estate market.
This first Meet Up Zome took place on March 20th, in Lisbon. With the organization of these meetings, across several players and stakeholders in the sector, Zome reiterates its commitment to continue leading initiatives that promote debate on the real estate market in Portugal.
The next Meet Up will take place on May 22nd, in Braga, under the theme: “Pampering, appreciating, caring. Keeping talent at the center of organizations.”
