Braga is the district capital with the greatest dynamic in the creation of new residential supply, after the metropolitan capitals of Lisbon and Porto, conclude the most recent results from the Braga Urban Observatory. A partnership between Confidencial Imobiliário and Braga City Council, this platform brings together the main statistics relating to the residential market in this municipality, with quarterly updates on housing supply and demand indicators, as well as prices and rents.
The Minho city is definitely on the route of real estate developers, standing out, in addition to Lisbon and Porto, as the district capital with the highest volume of dwellings with a licensing request in 2023. Only those two district capitals, with pipelines in 2023 in the order of 2,400 to 2,500 dwellings, surpass the dynamics of Braga, where requests were registered for the licensing of 1,062 new dwellings during the course of last year. The remaining district capitals place the pipelines between a maximum of 805 dwellings counted in Leiria and a minimum of less than 50 dwellings in Portalegre. Cities with a strong university, business and/or tourist vocation, such as Aveiro and Coimbra, have pipelines in the order of 600 and 500 dwellings, respectively.
Braga also stands out for its ability to implement investment intentions in new development. In 2023, for each new fire that received a licensing request, the municipality licensed another fire, resulting in 1,089 licensed fires in the municipality last year. Even though, in absolute terms, it is below Lisbon and Porto, this volume reflects a ratio of buildings in pipeline/licensed buildings higher than either of these two other cities. In Lisbon, the number of homes licensed in 2023, totaling 1,115 units, is equivalent to half of the pipeline of new homes that filed a licensing application (2,359). In Porto, 2,050 homes were licensed in 2023, less than the 2,469 that entered the pipeline.
“In practice, licensing dynamics show us that Braga has had the capacity to license at the same pace as promoters launch new investments. At a time when, in general, the lack of supply continues to be one of the market’s main constraints and when licensing is seen as one of the major obstacles to faster growth in supply, this dynamic places Braga in a privileged position to attract more residents and more real estate investment”, comments Ricardo Guimarães, director of Confidencial Imobiliário.
For João Rodrigues, councilor for Planning and Ordering, Urban Management, Urban Regeneration, Housing, Urban Intelligence and Technological Innovation, from Braga City Council, “these numbers demonstrate the dynamic response that the Municipality of Braga has imposed on its actions. , as a licensing entity, given the issues that arise today with housing. In addition to the number of licensed dwellings, I believe it is worth highlighting the enormous responsiveness that the Municipality’s urban planning services have demonstrated to demand. In practice, we can consider, in absolute terms, that for each new request received during the year, another was resolved – and this is very important. It means that we have, on the public entity’s side, the response capacity that the market and investors are looking for today and that serves as a decisive factor for investment”.
The price is another of Braga’s arguments. With sales at an average of €1,677/m2 in the 4th quarter of 2023, the city has prices below seven other district capitals. In a closer geographical area of influence, the difference of -44% compared to the average price charged in Porto stands out, where sales in the same period were made for €2,980/m2. Furthermore, it remains cheaper than other district capitals with university and/or business vocations, such as Coimbra and Aveiro, where pricing practices are between €1,800/m2 and €2,000/m2.
Regarding price developments, Braga recorded an appreciation of 16.6% in 2023, an increase that remains at high levels, but which slows down compared to the 18.2% increase observed in 2022.
In terms of rents, Braga is also one of the most competitive district capitals. With an average contracted rent of €8.9/m2 in the 4th quarter of 2023, it offers more affordable rents than six other district capitals, including Porto (-41%) and Coimbra and Aveiro (-14%). Without prejudice, the lack of supply for rentals has put upward pressure on rents, with an annual increase of 17.7% in 2023 in the values charged in new contracts, accelerating compared to the 12.7% growth recorded in 2022.
The Braga Urban Observatory is a platform for aggregating and disseminating the main indicators of the residential market in this municipality, the result of a partnership between Braga City Council and Confidencial Imobiliário.
