The real estate and construction sector is in good health in 2025, at least as far as the creation of companies is concerned. This scenario is confirmed by the latest data from the Informa D&B Barometer: in the first quarter of 2025, 1,742 companies were set up in the real estate sector, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 23%, and 1,954 companies were set up in the construction sector, 5.6% more than in the first three months of last year.
This trend, however, is not seen at national level, with a total of 14,909 companies created in Portugal in the first quarter of the year, which corresponds to a decrease of 1.9% (-287 incorporations) compared to the same period in 2024.
“The drop was across the board in most sectors of activity, although with a very significant weight in Transport (-25%; -346 incorporations), namely in ‘passenger transport service activities, on request, by vehicle with driver’ (-46%; -490 incorporations),” Informa D&B said in a statement.
Among the sectors with growth, the company adds, “construction is the most consistent, with an increase in the number of new companies for several consecutive years”.
"The creation of companies in Agriculture and other natural resources has been growing since the beginning of this year and has, in the first quarter, the most expressive percentage increase among all sectors. Among the sectors to grow in this indicator are also real estate activities (+23%; +322 incorporations), as well as Industries (+8.5%; +49 incorporations)."
With regard to companies that closed their doors, by the end of March, there were 2,357 company closures across the country, which corresponds to a decrease compared to the same quarter last year.
"In the last 12 months, 13,661 companies closed down, 12% less than in the previous 12 months. The drop in this indicator in this period was transversal to all sectors of activity, with the exception of Transport (+10%; +83 closures)," concludes Informa D&B.
Insolvencies are also falling, according to the data: "Contrary to the trend of the last two years, insolvencies show signs of falling. In the first quarter of the year, 507 companies started insolvency proceedings, which corresponds to a drop of 7.0% (-38 insolvencies) compared to the same period last year."
Source: https://www.idealista.pt/