Housing

Portugal is facing an unprecedented housing shortage. Residential construction has fallen well below the levels observed at the beginning of the century, even as demand has intensified in major urban areas. The result is sustained pressure on prices and rents, with particularly acute effects on younger households and middle-income families. What was once a cyclical concern has become a structural constraint on economic mobility and social cohesion.

Housing is inherently an interdisciplinary issue. It lies at the intersection of economics, sociology, urban planning, demography, finance, and public administration. Supply constraints reflect not only market incentives, but also zoning rules, permitting processes, infrastructure capacity, construction sector dynamics, and patterns of land use. At the same time, demand is shaped by income growth, household formation, migration flows, and changing preferences. Immigration adds further complexity: different types of migration — high-skilled professionals, students, temporary workers, long-term residents — affect local housing markets in distinct ways, both in terms of geography and price segments. Simplistic narratives obscure more than they clarify.

The Nova SBE Public Policy Institute (NPPI) aims to bring analytical clarity to this debate. In a policy environment often dominated by ideology rather than evidence, NPPI seeks to disentangle facts from assumptions and trade-offs from slogans. By grounding the discussion in rigorous data analysis and comparative research, the Institute intends to contribute concrete, actionable proposals that expand housing supply, improve affordability, and strengthen long-term urban sustainability.