Portugal’s property sector currently employs around 50,000 people, 22,000 more than in 2015.
Over the past four years, the number of people employed in Portugal’s real estate sector increased by around 80%, making the real estate sector one of the main sources of employment in the country, according to numbers published by the Portuguese Association of Estate Agents and Real Estate Professionals (APEMIP).
Around half of the people working in the sector are estate agents, reports Dinheiro Vivowebsite.
In fact, data from the Institute of Employment and Professional Training (IEPF) shows that the sector is the most active one when it comes to job creation in Portugal.
Job centres registered 2,252 job vacancies in the property sector in July, which accounts for 21% of all job vacancies in the services sector in the country. Compared with the previous month, the increase was 11% while the year-on-year increase was 2.2%.
“In the last few years, it seems like all the Portuguese have become realtors,” Luís Lima from APEMIP told DV.
“Tourism and property are the ‘oil’ and ‘gold’ of this country, there are no doubts about that. And they are interconnected. They have been the motors of our economy for every reason, and job creation is one of the most important,” Lima added.
Still, the property boss warns that things could start to change soon.
“Many agencies have opened in recent years. I have defended that there has to be some control over the sector, as there are many companies that present themselves as consultants. They provide unfair competition,” he said.
He also warns that prices have increased so much (see story on this page) that there are many houses on the market that the Portuguese cannot afford.
Lima also warned that there is great demand for houses in the medium/low market although it is the luxury market that is building the most houses.
