After the euphoria of recent years, home prices in Portugal are falling, moving towards stabilization. Investment in the residential market begins to "lose momentum" at a time when demand is weaker and showing signs of slowing down. The lack of product still continues to put pressure on prices, but less than before, also due to the increasing supply trend in the new construction level. With this cycle change in sight, is it time to start thinking about selling the house? House prices are stabilizing. This is the conclusion of the RICS / CI Portuguese Housing Market Survey (PHMS), carried out by Confidencial Imobiliário and RICS with about 150 real estate professionals. The results show that the residential market is not only cooling, but "it continues to lose momentum, registering in April a slowdown in both demand and sales," the statement said. "Despite the lack of supply, to exert some pressure on prices, they begin to show some signs of stabilization. " In terms of demand, the April survey shows a decline in inquiries by potential customers - a net balance of -7% of respondents refers to a decline in new consultations and this is already the seventh month of negative changes. "The agreed sales also fell for the second consecutive month at the national level, presenting, when disaggregated at the regional level, a downward trend in Lisbon and Algarve, but remaining stable in Oporto," the statement said. Little offer does not trigger prices with before Although supply declined again in April (the indicator reached its lowest reading since December last year), "price growth continued to soften at the national level", with only "a net balance of + 7% of respondents reported a rise in prices in the period under review, "which translates to the" most modest balance in four years. " In regional terms, respondents reported a stabilization of prices in Lisbon and Algarve, although in Porto they continued to show solid growth. "Although the growth of the Portuguese economy has gained new momentum in the first months of 2019, the housing market seems to be losing momentum," says Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist of RICS, adding that "the financial capacity for access to housing and the lack may be making themselves felt on demand. " Ricardo Guimarães, director of Confidencial Imobiliário, points out that "sellers are revising their expectations lower, and some are already lowering the prices requested by their properties", and "despite the decrease in new loans granted, that restrictions on access to credit are limiting potential demand. " And just look at the numbers of housing loans since the entry into force of the recommendations of the Bank of Portugal (BdP) - which wanted to put a brake on loans for home purchase - to confirm this scenario. Between July 2018 and March 2019, the percentage of loans with the highest risk profile was reduced from 35% to 9%, which may be having an impact on the rise in house prices, as the idealist / news reported . Now, is it time to sell the house? The market may be cooling down but for now it's still hot. A scenario that poses a question to homeowners: will it be time to blindfold the house and seize the moment to make a good deal? Paulo Morgado, Administrator of ERA Portugal, says that "the sale of a dwelling can always mean a good investment strategy since it is done after weighting and analyzing the real estate market." The expert explained to Vivo Vivo that it is important that the owners do not leave for a sale with confidence that the market will slow down. An opinion shared by Ricardo Sousa, CEO of Century 21 Portugal, for whom the market boom should not influence the decision. "Selling expensive and buying cheap is the dream of all consumers, but can only be realized by those who have time to wait to sell - maximizing the value of selling - and by who has one house to live until finding another one", says the person in charge to the same publication. The real estate companies believe that it is very important to consider options and assess the risks of each business well, completely discouraging hasty decisions just because the market is "hot" and about to enter a new cycle. For Remax, the "buy / sell decision should not be taken lightly only by the influence of the conjuncture, but essentially by the future profits that are expected and prospective". Capital gains weigh on decision One of the most important factors, and referred to by those responsible, is the capital gains - the possible profit that is subject to a 50% IRS tax. This means that, after deducting the value of the purchase of the house and expenses, a 50% cut in profit will still be applied. And there are only two ways to escape from this heavy bill: to have bought a house before 1989 or to use the capital gains dividend to buy another house within 36 months - which could end up "eating" the margin , since prices, although on a downward trajectory, are still high. Source: https://www.idealista.pt/news/imobiliario/habitacao/2019/06/05/39876-com-os-precos-das-casas-a-comecar-a-cair-e-hora-de-vender