The Unassuming Economist

The IMF’s new report on Portugal says that: “After a prolonged slump, construction began to pick up in late 2016, boosted by the renovation of rental properties to meet tourist demand and nonresident purchases of residential real estate, including in Lisbon and Porto. House prices have increased by 15 percent in cumulative terms over the past two years through end-March, and now exceed the previous peak recorded prior to the crisis in 2010.  (…) New lending has instead been concentrated primarily in mortgages and consumer loans, helping to sustain the strong growth in private consumption and rise in housing prices.”