Market Conditions Remain Stable

The May 2024 results of the PHMS RICS/Ci point to an overall stabilization of conditions in the housing sales market, as most metrics remain in neutral territory.

On the other hand, the trend of increasing demand in the rental market is consolidating, where the lack of new properties coming onto the market persists. Regarding demand from new buyers, the latest reading was zero, changing little from April's -2%, which again suggests a stable demand situation in the housing purchase and sale market.

New instructions for sales also remained unchanged, with a net balance just 1 percentage point above the -4% reading recorded in April. Concerning the volume of sales, the indicator was less negative, moving from -11% in April to -7% in May.

As has been evident in recent months, there remains a divergence between the current performance of sales and expectations for their evolution over the next three months. In fact, the expectation metrics returned a reading of +12% in May, marking the third consecutive month of increase.

Meanwhile, the net balance for house prices registered a small increase, from +3% to +10% in May, confirming a trend of slight growth in recent times. However, regarding price expectations for the next three months, the outlook is more cautious, with the net balance in neutral territory (-1%). Over a 12-month horizon, however, expectations remain clearly positive, with a net balance of +36% of respondents anticipating an increase.

Source: Confidencial Imobiliário