Source: Freepik Author: Redaction According to Eurostat published this Tuesday, 9 July, house sales have fallen both in the European Union (EU) and in Portugal , which is one of the 13 of the 16 EU countries for which data for the previous year is available, where this trend has been seen for the second year running. The data from the European Statistical Office shows that in 2023, property transactions fell by 19.8% in Portugal, placing our country in the middle of the table , although the biggest falls were reported in Luxembourg, with -43.3%, Austria, with -26.4%, and Hungary and Finland, both with -24.5%. The countries where there were increases were Cyprus, with growth of +31%, Poland, with +3.9%, and Ireland, with an increase of +0.6%. Also read: House prices: Portugal outperforms the Eurozone and EU average
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction According to data published last Friday 5 July by Eurostat, house prices in Portugal are showing no signs of falling, continuing to rise above the average for the Eurozone and the European Union (EU), which, despite also continuing to rise, are progressively slower. Between January and March this year, the Portuguese market saw year-on-year growth of 7 per cent, still above the average of 1.4 per cent recorded in the EU countries, and still far from the 0.4 per cent correction felt in the 20 member countries of the Eurozone . However, despite having risen sharply, house prices in Portugal are beginning to show signs of slowing down , with the quarter-on-quarter change standing at just 0.6 per cent, compared to 1.3 per cent in the previous quarter. Year-on-year growth, on the other hand, was 7 per cent, compared to 7.8 per cent in the final quarter of last year. The figures may correspond to a turning point in the market , after large rises had been experienced and, according to Eurostat, following Portugal, with a year-on-year price increase of 18 per cent, are Bulgaria and Lithuania, with increases of 18 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Related: Interest rates: BdP governor advises ECB to be prudent , Bank valuation of houses rises for the sixth month in a row and House sales slowed by 4.1% in the 1st quarter of the year
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The fifth request for payment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) was submitted to Brussels this Wednesday, 3 July, in the amount of 2.9 billion euros , aimed at meeting 27 milestones and 15 targets. According to the Deputy Minister for Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida: with the submission of this payment request, which according to the PRR timetable should have been made in the first quarter of this year, we have made up for the delays, he said, adding that in less than three months it was possible to unblock the funds withheld in Brussels relating to the third and fourth requests , and the fifth has now been submitted. The request for the PRRs fifth cheque was only possible after 42 more milestones and targets had been met , which represent a disbursement of 3.191 million euros (gross value before pre-financing), of which 1.878 million euros in grants and 1.313 million euros in loans , as the Mission Structure explains. As a result, the Recovering Portugal Task Force has sent evidence of the fulfilment of 13 reforms and 29 investments, relating to the 42 milestones and targets, says the organisation. The European Commission will have to send the Economic and Financial Committee its preliminary assessment of the fulfilment of the respective objectives and milestones required of Portugal , after assessing the request for the release of the fifth cheque, in order to ascertain the viability of the payment, and thus, if the opinion is positive, increase the execution of the PRR to 32% compared to the current 23%. About PRR: Government speeds up construction of 2,871 homes with PRR funds
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Brussels issued this Monday, June 24, a statement indicating the release of the retained value of the third check of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) attributed to Portugal , in the amount of 714 million euros. The cheque, suspended due to non-compliance with two marks and a target , has now been released by the European Commission (EC) following the request made by Portugal on 11 June for the release of funds. The European Commission issued a positive preliminary assessment on Monday to lift the suspension of the payment of EUR 714 million to Portugal and EUR 37.2 million to Romania (net of pre-financing), after acknowledging the progress made in implementing the respective Recovery and Resilience Plans, the EC states in the issued communiqué. They add: this occurs after previous suspensions, in which the Commission concluded that certain milestones and targets had not been met satisfactorily in Portugal’s third and fourth payment requests and in Romania’s second payment request. Thus, Portugal regains access to funds, something that the Deputy Minister and Territorial Cohesion considers to be a step in the right direction , although there is still a long and demanding road ahead. In its press release after the Commission: we are now focused on the next stage - the fifth payment request, which will be submitted in July - and we will continue to work intensively so that in 2026 we can say that Portugal has fully implemented the largest package of funds that the country has ever received. On the suspension and the measures taken by the country to once again ensure compliance with the targets, Manuel Castro Almeida pointed out: After the initial suspension, Portugal was encouraged to take action over a period of six months. The Commission has now concluded that Portugal has taken steps to ensure that all outstanding milestones and targets have been satisfactorily completed . The two outstanding milestones concern the creation of integrated centres of responsibility in hospital centres, which entered into force on 1 January, as well as the law on regulated professions, through professional associations, which also entered into force at the beginning of the year. Stay tuned for everything that happens in the country with SUPERCASA Notícias
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Lisbon is the 100th most expensive city in the world for expatriates, according to the 2024 edition of the Cost of Living ranking, published by Mercer in a press release to SUPERCASA Notícias . The rise of 17 places in the global ranking in 2024 compared to the previous year reveals a worsening cost of living for those who decide to come and work in the Portuguese capital. Lisbon ranks 39th in Europe alone. The Cost of Living ranking by Mercer, a Marsh McLennan group company, classifies the cost of living in 226 cities around the world for expatriates by analysing the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, included in the categories of transport, food, clothing, household products and entertainment. This study aims to support multinational companies in defining compensation policies for expatriate employees. Hong Kong once again holds the top spot in the ranking, followed by Singapore. Zurich, Geneva and Basel are three of the five most expensive cities in the world, and Switzerlands high cost of living may be correlated with its superior quality of life. The rising cost of housing in many cities has made mobility a challenge for organisations. Inflation is another factor that is reducing purchasing power and putting pressure on compensation policies. This situation is likely to make it more difficult to attract and retain key talent, and could increase benefit/compensation costs, as well as operating costs and create limitations on employee mobility. Cost of living challenges have a significant impact on the mobility of multinational companies and their employees , says Tiago Borges, Career Business Leader at Mercer Portugal. Its important for organisations to keep an eye on trends and take employee feedback into account so that they can effectively manage the impact of these issues. The rise in the cost of living is causing employees to rethink routines and reduce expenses, and may even require them to make an additional effort to meet their basic needs, he adds. Faced with these challenges, companies can rethink the compensation associated with mobility, for example by including or reinforcing housing support, providing support services or exploring alternative strategies for attracting and retaining talent, he concludes in the note to which SUPERCASA Notícias has had access. Worldwide In the European context, apart from the four Swiss cities that appear in the top positions of the ranking - Zurich (3rd position), Geneva (4th position), Basel (5th position) and Bern (6th position) - the most expensive cities are London (8th position), Copenhagen (11th position), Vienna (24th position), Paris (29th position) and Amsterdam (30th position). On the other hand, Minsk, the Belarusian capital, is the cheapest European city, ranking 212th. Other low-cost cities in Europe include Sarajevo (203rd position), Scopia (198th position), Krakow (175th position) and Wroclaw (169th position). Although the European economy has slowed down, there are already positive signs of growth in most EU member states. In Southern Europe, economic expansion is accelerating and the annual inflation rate is expected to fall, indicating greater price stability. On the global scene, the two cities with the highest cost of living are in Asia - Hong Kong and Singapore - which is mainly due to the high price of housing. These major economic centres also attract a large number of expatriate employees, which also contributes to the rising cost of goods. All North American cities are ranked in the top 100, with seven cities in the top 20. At the lower end are Canadas cities, where the Canadian economy has shown strong resilience and is outperforming expectations. Toronto is the most expensive Canadian city (92nd place), followed by Vancouver (101st place). Meanwhile, the cost of living in Mexican cities has increased significantly compared to the previous year, with the capital occupying 33rd and Monterrey 115th place, a rise of 46 and 40 places respectively. In South America, the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo, is the most expensive city for expat employees (42nd place). Due to fluctuations in exchange rates and housing prices, several South American cities have seen a significant movement compared to the previous year - Santiago in Chile has fallen 73 places to 160th in the ranking, while Bogotá in Colombia has risen 40 places to 174th. In the Pacific region, inflation is likely to continue to put pressure on residents purchasing power. Sydney (58th place), in Australia, is the most expensive city in the region, overtaking Noumea, in New Caledonia, which occupies 60th place, having risen 10 places. The most expensive African cities are Bangui (14th place) in the Central African Republic, Djibouti, capital of the country of the same name, (18th place) and Djamena (21st place) in Chad. Lagos (225th place), in Nigeria, has dropped 178 places since last year, the biggest change compared to the previous year. This change is mainly due to currency fluctuations, including repeated devaluations of the naira. At 15th place, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is the most expensive city in the Middle East, while Mumbai has moved up to 136th place and is the most expensive city in India. Keep up to the minute with SUPERCASA Notícias
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction Portuguese municipalities will be able to benefit from specialized training in the field of sustainable construction and energy efficiency , through the project Sustainable Municipalities , promoted by the Sustainable Construction Portal (PCS). Through this action, it is intended to promote the knowledge of local authorities, especially public administration technicians. Information on sustainable building materials, as well as environmentally friendly practices , will be addressed and can be carried out internally or with openness to the public, lacking any associated cost. According to the CEO of PCS, Aline Guerreiro: combating misinformation in this area is urgent, many products appear on the market that are not environmentally friendly and are dubbed sustainable. Since there is no information available to assess their sustainability, it is difficult to understand their credibility. That is why it is increasingly necessary to demystify the theme, and combat what is called greenwashing. Greenwashing has been one of the concerns of the European Union, which has approved a directive banning the use of false environmental claims, including in advertising . Consumers will thus be able to make a more concrete choice, without being led into deception. Regarding construction, it has been a trend, especially in the sector, to call for more environmentally friendly and sustainable choices , with several measures taken in this direction to mitigate the effects of traditional processes, since it is currently the sector that consumes the most energy and uses a large percentage of available natural resources. On this topic, we suggest: Construction: what are Tiny Houses and what does the legislation say? , Sustainability in the design of a house: everything you should know and Renewable energy community: Coimbra presents proposal
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction As Eurostat announced last Friday, May 24, the number of people working in the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector has increased again, reaching almost 10 million people last year. According to the data collected, the increase corresponds to 4.8% of the total number of jobs in the European Union (EU), and in Portugal, the share of workers in this area, although it has also grown, is still below the Community average. According to the European Statistical Office, in 2023, 9.8 million people worked as ICT specialists in the European Union, which represents 4.8% of total employment. In recent years, there has been a trend of growth of ICT specialists, with the number of people working in this area having risen by 1.5 percentage points since 2013 and 0.2 percentage points compared to 2022 . In the EU countries where the highest incidence of workers in this sector was recorded, the highlight goes to Sweden, with 9.8% in 2023, followed by Luxembourg, with 8.0% and Finland, with 7.6%. On the other hand, the countries with the lowest percentage of workers employed in ICT are Greece, with 2.4%, Romania, with 2.5% and Slovenia, with 3.8%. In the case of Portugal, as Eurostat found, in 2023 only 4.5% of the workers were associated with the ICT sector as specialists , which, although representing an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year, represents a figure below the average of the European Union countries . Still, Portugal can stand out for its percentage of women in the ICT sector, which corresponds to 20%, being above the EU average, which is 19.4%. However, there was a 0.3 percentage point decrease in the growth of this indicator, which grew by 0.5 percentage points on the Community average between 2022 and 2023. Stay for more topics like this: OECD had 0.4% growth of GDP in the 1st quarter of the year , Wages: 56% of Portuguese workers are dissatisfied and Strategic investments will have new incentive system
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The European elections are taking place on 9 June . Precisely because its the day before the public holiday, many people take the opportunity to take a few days off to rest. So, in order to continue exercising their right to vote, registered voters in Portugal can register to vote in advance, in a municipality of their choice, on a mobile basis. Mobile voting is a method that the Portuguese can opt for, and they only have to register in advance for this purpose, which is taking place until 30 May. Early voting must be exercised on 2 June, one week before the elections. If you are abroad, you can exercise your right to vote between 28 and 30 May. To have access to this mobility, voters must register at a polling station of their choice in a municipality on the mainland or in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, on the government website or by post sent to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Read more in SUPERCASA News
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction On Friday 17th May, Eurostat released data on immigrant employment contracts in the European Union (EU), with Portugal showing disparate figures compared to the other member states . According to the European statistical office, there is a high incidence of fixed-term labour contracts in Portugal, with more than 4 in 10 workers who immigrated to our country from countries outside the European Union (EU) having this type of employment relationship. Portugal is therefore above the EU average , being one of the countries with the highest incidence of fixed-term contracts among immigrants, behind only Cyprus and the Netherlands. According to Eurostat, among employees living in the European Union, 11.5 per cent of nationals had fixed-term contracts in 2023. In other words, they were temporary workers. And it explains: among citizens of other member states, 14.2 per cent were in this situation, while among citizens who came from countries outside the European Union the share was 23 per cent, double that recorded for nationals . With regard to immigrant workers from countries outside the EU, f our member states accounted for 40 per cent of all temporary contracts, with the highest percentage in Cyprus, at 53.9 per cent, followed by the Netherlands, at 46.4 per cent, and Portugal, at 42.3 per cent. Read more: Labour costs rise again in the 1st quarter of the year
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The European Commission (EC) has launched forecasts for the real estate market , indicating, soon, a possible rise in prices in the European Union (EU). This projection is made in a context where there is a lack of housing in the average of the Member States and with the spring economic forecasts marking the moderation of real estate markets last year. Thus, despite regional variations, Brussels notes that real estate prices will soon rise again , recalling that in the fourth quarter of last year, prices in the euro area stood at 1.2% below the 2022 level. EU prices, on the other hand, were 0.2% higher, and variations averaged -1.1% in the Eurozone and -0.3% in the EU. On the countries most affected by the variations, they point out: the most significant decreases were registered in Germany, Sweden, Luxembourg and Finland. On the contrary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia recorded growth rates above 6% . Regarding new building permits and transactions in this area, the Community executive indicates that the figures were close to the lowest levels in the last ten years: construction permits seem to have recently begun to recover. Strict credit standards and low demand are expected to continue to weigh on real estate transactions and construction for a few more quarters, they indicate. In this context, the EC points out that, at a later stage, there may be a recovery in demand, in favour of the outlook for income growth and the reduction in interest rates indicated by the European Central Bank: the interaction between these developments and structurally low housing supply is expected to support housing prices in the future. Also follow: Portuguese economy may grow this year and next
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The European Commission’s spring forecast , made public this Wednesday, indicates a possible growth of the Portuguese economy for this year, of 1.7% . The estimate is more positive than that of the State Budget for 2024 and the Stability Program, which indicate growth of 1.5%. Banco de Portugal, on the other hand, reviews these projections downwards. In view of the winter forecasts, which indicated 1.2% growth, the Brussels revision for Portuguese economic growth for this year is high , with the same trend to be pointed out for 2025, in which a growth of 1.9% is expected: Economic growth in Portugal is expected to moderate further in 2024, before rebounding again in 2025, driven by private consumption and investment, the Commission report said. According to forecasts, Portugal will achieve the 15th highest growth rate in 2024, staying at the same level as Latvia. Among the countries of the European Union, estimates point to a growth of 1% of GDP this year and 1.6% in 2025 , while in the Eurozone the projection is 0.8% in 2024 and 1.4% in 2025. Headline inflation is projected to continue to decline over the forecast horizon in a context of steadily increasing employment and a relatively stable unemployment rate, note the Brussels Commissioners, with inflation expected to reach 2,3% this year and 1.9% in 2025. Regarding public accounts, the European Commission points out that this and next year there are budget surpluses of 0.4% and 0.5% , respectively, without accounting for the new measures and possible policies taken in the coming times, with the expected figures pointing out would follow the expected economic slowdown and moderation of inflation and balanced fiscal policy measures, including the reform of personal income tax included in the 2024 State Budget and discretionary increases in public wages and pensions. However, Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni indicated that the forecasts already contemplate the reform of the IRS announced by the new Government, with an impact beginning in 2024 and lasting until 2025. Thus, Portugal is pointed out as one of the four countries where there may be a budget surplus this year and next. The remaining countries are Cyprus, Denmark and Ireland. Keep abreast of other current issues: National public spending has been set at the equivalent of 42.3% of GDP , Labor costs grow again in the 1st quarter of the year
Source: Freepik Author: Redaction The G7 countries have agreed to phase out the use of coal in electricity generation by the middle of the next decade , or as necessary to meet the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°C. This commitment was announced as part of the final communiqué of the meeting of environment, energy and climate ministers from the seven most industrialized countries, held in Turin, Italy. In addition, the G7 agreed to press for an end to the construction of new coal-fired power stations around the world as soon as possible . They also expressed support for the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity and strengthening energy security by increasing system flexibility through demand response, grid reinforcement and the implementation of smart grids. This commitment includes contributing to the global goal of reaching 1,500 gigawatts of energy storage capacity in the electricity sector by 2030, a significant increase from 230 gigawatts in 2020. In addition, the G7 reaffirmed the importance of the most financially capable countries contributing to helping the poorest countries face the challenges of the climate crisis. They highlighted the need for a new financial target, with a minimum value of 100 billion dollars per year, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. The two-day meeting in Turin was marked by protests, highlighting global concern about inaction on the climate crisis and the continued use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. The G7 member countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Follow these issues in SUPERCASA News
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