António Rebelo de Sousa - Economist

Housing: From a New Conception

Professor For many years it was considered that the Construction sector, including Housing, belonged to the Non-Tradable Goods Sector or Domestic Economy, not corresponding to a strategic sector, unlike the Tradable Goods Sector, which is more export-oriented.
However, in the last two decades, a different concept of Housing began to develop, in which the "focus", that is, the essence of the business, was no longer just concentrated on the sale of the property or its rental.
An integrated and inclusive perspective of the Housing business has been adopted, giving relevance to the set of services provided around Housing, from condominium management, to the most diverse maintenance services, to catering, cleaning, insurance, decoration, rental services in the absence of the owner, in short, to a diverse range of activities that guarantee a good quality of life, and it is certain that, increasingly, those who present themselves as responsible for construction have an advantage in demonstrating management capacity in these complementary areas.
And this is understandable, because the seller only has to gain from associating the sale of a good product, that is, a quality home, with the provision of a set of services that guarantee a good standard of living for those who will benefit from that same home.
Therefore, the tendency for integrated condominiums to appear, managed by the construction entity (albeit indirectly), appears to be a fatality that can only contribute to offering a greater level of security to the buyer.
And, thus, with the increase in demand for quality, well-managed housing not only by the more privileged segments of Portuguese society, but also by new foreign residents, there has been a trend for housing to be considered as an activity belonging to the Tradable Goods Sector, with a dynamic effect on the national economy.
No more, no less…