Avenue seeks to develop middle-class housing in Portugal

Real estate developer Avenue expressed interest in investing in middle-class housing in Portugal, but noted that the current 23% VAT rate on new construction makes such projects financially unviable.

CEO Aniceto Viegas stated that reducing the VAT from 23% to 6% would result in savings of approximately 700 euros per square meter. He highlighted that the combination of high land prices, rising construction costs, slow administrative licensing processes, and the current tax burden pushes production costs beyond the price points accessible to the middle class.

While Avenue has historically focused on luxury and high-end residential projects in Lisbon and Porto, the company aims to shift toward the medium-high and middle segments. Viegas noted that faster licensing and tax reductions would be passed on to final housing prices, though he acknowledged public skepticism regarding whether previous tax cuts have effectively reached consumers.