"In 21 years, much has changed in real estate mediation," says Miguel Ribeiro, founder of Predimed, which was established in 2004. The market is also different: "At the time, we were in a period of price stagnation and a great balance between supply and demand. (…) Today, we live in a market where there is enormous pressure from demand, and supply cannot keep up, which is why we have constant price increases. Foreign investment is much greater and geographically much more widespread," the expert explains to idealista/news, emphasizing that the work of real estate consultants "is strongly focused on people and their emotions." "No machine will ever be able to interpret a person's dreams and desires, nor will it ever create the bonds that we establish with clients," he warns.

Among the various topics addressed by Miguel Ribeiro in the interview, in addition to the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the real estate mediation sector and on professionals' work, is also the long-identified need to stimulate the rental market. "The absence of a true rental market pushes everyone towards buying [a home], and this causes a great imbalance in the market," he warns, lamenting that this market is losing "importance day by day."

When asked what the new Government could do to respond to the housing crisis—or, for many, the crisis of access to housing—in order to increase the supply of homes for sale or rent, the founder of Predimed responds candidly: "Isolated measures never yield great results. Either you look at the issue globally, or making slight adjustments to VAT here while compensating with other taxes there leads nowhere. Segmented measures, such as support for the purchase of a first home [IMT and Stamp Duty exemption and public guarantees on mortgage loans], should not be only for young people, but for everyone since the right to housing, as enshrined in the constitution, is not just for the young or the not-so-young, it is for everyone (…).”

Predimed was founded in 2004, and much has changed since then, especially in real estate mediation. How would you currently define the company, and how do you analyze the sector compared to when you started?

In 21 years, much has changed. The way we work today incorporates much more technology than in 2004, but essentially it hasn't changed: it remains a business of serving people, identifying the best solutions for clients, and, above all, being by their side from start to finish in the buying, selling, or renting process. The market today is also different from the one in 2004. At the time, we were experiencing price stagnation and a great balance between supply and demand. Except for the Algarve, there was almost no foreign demand. Today, we live in a market with enormous pressure on the demand side and insufficient supply, which leads to constant price increases. Foreign investment is much higher and geographically more widespread.

"The sector is more consolidated than 21 years ago, more professionalized, and more competitive. I know that sometimes we ourselves criticize the sector, but in a cold and fair analysis, we are all much better off than we were in 2004."

Regarding the brand, 21 years ago we were a small brand opening its first agency on the outskirts of Lisbon, following a "traditional" real estate model. Today we are a consolidated brand, present nationwide, well-known and recognized, operating through a modern network system, but essentially maintaining the same desire to help clients and collaborators, to grow, and to always do better. The sector is more consolidated, professionalized, and competitive than 21 years ago. Even though we sometimes criticize ourselves, objectively, we are all much better off than we were in 2004.

Predimed has over 1,500 consultants in the country, more than 130 agencies, and over 8,000 properties listed. How would you assess this performance? Are you planning to open more agencies soon?

The balance has been very positive. Predimed has experienced uninterrupted growth for 12 years. After overcoming the crisis that affected the world, the country, and especially the real estate market, the brand has thrived because it reinvented itself, repositioned, set a strategy, and executed it. Recruitment is ongoing, and we still have much room to grow, whether in the number of agencies, consultants, or turnover.

What distinguishes Predimed from other real estate networks? Do you believe there is healthy competition in the sector?

All real estate networks provide mediation services. What distinguishes Predimed is that these services are provided by the best-paid—and therefore most motivated—consultants in the market. Our positioning is to provide consultants with a set of tools that allow them to offer excellent service to clients, paying them the highest commissions in the market, with a flexible system that allows them to develop their careers and businesses with the best cost-benefit ratio in the market.

I would say that competition among licensed companies is generally good and healthy, and that the main competitors are actually business partners. The problem lies with those who operate illegally, without proper licenses, disguised as "friends of the owner" or "business managers."

Is 2025 being a good year for Predimed, especially compared to the same period last year? What is the client profile in terms of segment and nationality?

We have been in a continuous growth process for 12 years, growing exponentially year after year. This year is no exception; we closed the first quarter with a 120% growth compared to the same period last year.

Our market positioning is very broad, but the bulk of our business is in the residential segment. Financially, we are also very broad, but most transactions fall into the mid to upper-mid segments. In terms of nationality, most clients are still Portuguese, but we also have many Brazilians, North Americans, French, among others.

Are more homes being sold and rented in Portugal in 2025, despite persistently high prices? What is your outlook for price trends?

As long as the construction of new developments and urbanizations does not result in a substantial number of new apartments and houses, prices will continue to rise. The rental market is more complex because there is no structured market.

"What needs to be done is to build more houses, for different segments, to absorb the high demand. (...) If, in addition, there is a lower tax burden on real estate development, especially for properties intended for rent (...), prices will stabilize."

Portugal is experiencing a housing crisis or, for many, a crisis of access to housing. How can this situation be addressed, considering that increasing housing supply is crucial?

What needs to be done is to build more houses for different segments to absorb the high demand. It may sound simple, but that’s what it is. If, in addition, the tax burden on real estate development is lowered, particularly for rental properties, to finally create a true rental market, prices will stabilize.

What can or should the new Government do, legislatively, to address the housing shortage? Could reducing VAT on construction to 6% be part of the solution? How do you assess the Government's measures to support first-time homebuyers, such as IMT and Stamp Duty exemptions and public guarantees on mortgage loans?

Isolated measures never yield great results. Either you look at the issue globally, or tinkering with VAT here while increasing taxes elsewhere leads nowhere. Segmented measures, like support for first-home purchases, should not be just for young people but for everyone, since the constitutional right to housing is for all. But introducing such measures in a market with such an imbalance between supply and demand only worsens things by increasing demand. If demand increases and supply does not, prices rise. It’s a vicious cycle.

There must be a real fiscal overhaul, from land acquisition for development to construction and property transactions. Additionally, bureaucratic and municipal processes for new construction must be streamlined and accelerated. There’s a lot of talk about it, but in practice, nothing changes: a complete lack of communication between government agencies, layers of bureaucracy, and numerous fees that drive up the final price. And who pays for it all? The end customer, the buyer.

Moreover, large areas of land available for city expansion should be released—many of which belong to the state, municipalities, or are unjustifiably classified as agricultural reserve, where only weeds, debris, and garbage accumulate. And I always insist that these measures should particularly focus on rental housing because the lack of a true rental market pushes everyone toward buying, causing great imbalance.

There has long been talk about the need to stimulate the rental market. Do you believe that initiatives like Build to Rent could help achieve this?

In theory, I would be among the last people interested in having a strong rental market. As a mediator, because rentals generate much lower commissions. And as a developer, who builds rental properties, the greater the competition, the worse for me. But these subjective reasons do not prevent me from being objective: there is no solid residential rental market. That’s unfortunate because a true rental market offers more options for clients, for businesses, and results in more competitive prices. If build-to-rent or rental-oriented real estate investment were actively supported and encouraged, we would have many more properties for this purpose, leading to lower prices and more choices for everyone.

"Except for the financial crisis years, when drastic cuts in financing reduced the buying and selling market and brought many properties into the rental market, rentals have been losing importance day by day."

What role does the rental market play in Predimed’s business compared to buying and selling homes?

Currently, it is almost zero in the residential segment. There is some presence in the commercial and industrial segments because there is a market there—not highly structured, but it exists. But overall, in recent years, rentals have been absolutely residual. Except during the financial crisis years, when restricted access to financing shrank the sales market and brought many properties into rentals, the rental market has lost importance day by day.

Is it correct to say that technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence, is increasingly gaining ground in real estate mediation? What is changing?

All work tools in our activity are important. Their development and growth, the fact that almost everything is now available at the click of a button—information, data analysis, active search, digital marketing, client monitoring and feedback—are fantastic and help us provide better service. But they are tools, nothing more.

Is the role of the real estate consultant being strengthened or diminished in mediation?

Our work is heavily focused on people and their emotions. Work tools are merely secondary to consultants' interactions with clients. They do not alter the essence that mediation is a people-to-people business. If it were otherwise, it would have disappeared when real estate portals appeared. But not only did it not disappear, it flourished. Because no machine will ever interpret a person’s dreams and desires, nor create the bonds we form with clients, nor show empathy and provide comfort to those we advise. In fact, in an increasingly virtual world, our path is to become even more human.

"(...) No machine will ever interpret a person’s dreams and desires, nor create the bonds we form with clients, nor show empathy and provide comfort to those we advise. In an increasingly virtual world, our path is to become even more human."

Many point to the need for more training and regulation in real estate mediation. Do you share this view?

We are better than 10 years ago, but there is still much to be done. The sector lacks greater unity and better regulation, both externally (laws and regulations) and internally (self-regulation), which is virtually nonexistent. Just consider that professions like law or accounting have professional orders with a strong role in self-regulation, while in mediation there is no association for consultants, only two or three associations for mediators that mainly offer cheaper liability insurance and little else—this shows how far we are from where we should be.

In terms of training, we have evolved significantly; we have many good trainers, published work, and even some university-level courses. This progress had nothing to do with laws or regulations but stems from individuals feeling the need to become better professionals. I am pleased with this reality, but there is always room for improvement.

What can we expect from the real estate mediation sector in the coming years?

We will continue to have a market with strong demand and a shortage of supply. Over time, more properties will be built and enter the market, which will reduce this imbalance, leading the market into a plateau phase with price stabilization.