"Mais Habitação programme without impact: housing shortage and high prices still to be resolved" (with Neuza Pereira de Campos"

»So, in a context in which many families are struggling to fulfil their obligations to banks with regard to variable-rate mortgages - which "naturally causes serious social constraints" - Neuza Pereira de Campos, the Partner in charge of SRS Legal's real estate department, believes that "the measures approved by the government with regard to mortgages seem to us to be praiseworthy". Not least because they constitute an "oxygen balloon (...) that could help avoid extreme situations with significant repercussions", such as defaults.
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There are therefore many doubts as to the effectiveness of the Mais Habitação programme in creating more housing supply in Portugal and thus lowering house prices. "It seems to us that the new measures will not be able to achieve the intended objectives of creating more housing spaces at more affordable prices, as they are hardly attractive enough for homeowners," warns Neuza Pereira de Campos, from SRS Legal.
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In any case, the head of SRS Legal's real estate department believes that "the impact of the Mais Habitação package's measures is still unknown, because it is difficult to predict the consequences that some measures will have in terms of foreign (and even Portuguese) interest and appetite for property investment, and in particular for rehabilitation and new construction". For the time being, Neuza Pereira de Campos estimates that Local Accommodation will be "substantially affected", although she remains optimistic looking at the examples of other European countries where, to date, this sector has not slowed down.»