The Market Seen from the Street: Real Estate Consulting & Investment Services
As I’ve mentioned before, 2024 was a year of professional transformation.
It’s no secret that my ultimate dream in the real estate sector is to build an organization that establishes itself as a key player in Real Estate Development in Portugal.
Between 2019 and 2024, I had the opportunity to participate in various real estate development operations, taking on different roles and responsibilities. Over this period, I acquired significant hands-on knowledge and gained a deeper understanding of the demands of this industry—characterized by long development cycles, prolonged periods without cash flow, and a strong need for capital intensity.
Based on my experience and the need to redefine a business model that is less dependent on "external capital and decisions," in 2024, I started offering consulting services dedicated to real estate development.
The goal was simple: to support various stakeholders in the real estate development process, enhancing their results by maximizing the value of real estate assets.
Initially, in theory, I identified four target client profiles:
Property Owners (Buildings, Land): Many "non-professional" property owners (e.g., inherited real estate) make poorly informed decisions, leading to financial losses.
Service Objective: Support informed decision-making by providing a clear understanding of available options to maximize the value of their assets.
Real Estate Investors: There are both professional and non-professional investors. While I have extensive experience with professional investors, I believed there were more opportunities with non-professional investors.
Service Objective: Mitigate the risks associated with their real estate development/investment operations, maximizing their results and asset value.
Architects: Portugal has excellent architects. However, when defining architectural concepts aligned with market needs and trends, I believe there is room to improve projects to maximize their value.
Service Objective: Support architects in designing real estate products that enhance their clients' projects, increasing their market appeal.
Real Estate Agents: Competent professionals often face challenges when sourcing properties for development (buildings and land) at unrealistic prices or miss opportunities due to a lack of strong arguments with property owners.
Service Objective: Empower agents with information and specialized know-how, enhancing their results and increasing the value of their services to clients.
And in Practice, How Did It Go?
Well, in practice, it didn’t go badly at all.
The first half of 2024, still in "Lone Wolf" mode, allowed me to validate the concept of real estate consulting services among property owners needing asset evaluation and non-professional real estate investors.
For the first time in my career, I analyzed cases, prepared assessment and evaluation reports, developed business plans, and presented strategic recommendations across the country. Along the way, I had the opportunity to provide services to an institutional client and take on the coordination of two small-scale real estate development projects in Lisbon (between 500 and 1,000 m²).
One of the most surprising aspects for me was getting paid for this work. In the past, I had "offered" many assessments, evaluations, business plans, and strategic recommendations for free, hoping for future business relationships. As you can imagine, those "business relationships" were written in ice that melted on a summer day.
From July 2024 onwards, I was lucky enough to convince Pedro Almeida to embark on this uncertain journey full-time.
We remained focused on the same target clients, but we saw an increase in the number of requests and the diversity of services we provided. We conducted several assessments, hotel asset evaluations, strategic recommendations, feasibility studies for residential development projects, and even feasibility studies for logistics projects.
In October 2024, we decided to bring Gonçalo Miguel on board. With no prior experience in the real estate market and an academic background in International Relations, it wasn’t an obvious choice.
However, today, along with Nuno Poço, he is one of the key players in demonstrating to real estate agents that we can add value to their operations.
From our initial plan, the only goal we haven’t yet achieved is proving to architects that our services can be valuable to their work. But we still believe in it— and we’re not giving up.
From Process to Execution: How We Create Value in the Real Estate Sector
The success of any real estate project relies on a structured approach, based on solid principles and well-defined procedures.
While unexpected events are inevitable, we follow a clear and objective working model that allows us to assess each situation rigorously and present the right solutions to our clients.
The First Step: Analysis and Diagnosis
Everything begins with the client or partner presenting their case. Based on the provided information, we conduct a desktop analysis, which, in most situations, allows us to determine whether we can effectively add value and meet the identified needs.
1.1 If we conclude that we have no value to offer, we are the first to acknowledge that proceeding with our services wouldn't make sense. Transparency and honesty are essential in our approach.
1.2 If, on the other hand, we identify potential to generate value, we present a customized service proposal tailored to the client’s needs and our assessment of the situation.
1.3 Regardless of the contracted service, our initial deliverable is always a report. This may include asset evaluations, feasibility analyses, monitoring, or strategic recommendations. The goal is always the same: to provide a clear and well-supported perspective on the asset's potential and associated risks.
The purpose of delivering this report is to give the client a guide that allows them to proceed independently or hire other professionals to develop the process further.
From Theory to Practice: Implementation and Execution
After delivering the initial report—the theoretical component of the process—many clients choose to involve us in implementing the recommendations. This phase may include various areas, such as:
Defining and coordinating divestment strategies;
Developing and coordinating acquisition strategies;
Coordinating permitting processes;
Managing real estate development processes;
And other services tailored to the specific needs of each project.
Despite our small scale and the natural inefficiencies of a project still in its prototype phase, we feel that we’re on the right path.
Most importantly, we believe we’re making a significant impact on our clients, supporting them in different stages of the real estate development cycle and contributing to their success.
Conclusion: The Value of Structured Planning
Throughout this journey—still in its early stages—it has become clear that defining a plan based on solid principles and well-structured procedures makes all the difference. More importantly, it is essential to document it, implement it, monitor it, and continuously improve it.
In the real estate sector, as in any other, adaptability and continuous improvement are essential. With this mindset, we continue to evolve, always focused on generating value for our clients and partners.
January wasn’t a great month.
However, having a well-structured and monitored plan allows us to clearly understand where we are and where we want to go. Today, we can finally say that we have a pipeline of real estate consulting projects (excluding VAT), summarized as follows:
Fixed-fee contracts: €58,000
Fixed-fee contracts pending approval ("Proposals in Progress"): €30,500
Performance-based contracts signed: €227,500
Performance-based contracts under analysis: €190,000
Unawarded contracts: €40,000
Current pipeline: €466,000
As planned at the end of 2024, we are preparing to launch a new business unit in March—direct real estate investment—with Pedro Almeida leading the analysis and asset acquisition.
Stay tuned—more updates coming soon!
Note: We are always looking for the best partners to continue growing and consolidating our presence in the real estate market. If you’re an investor, property owner, agent, or architect who shares our vision, we invite you for a coffee and a conversation about potential synergies!
See you soon,
André Casaca, Pedro Almeida & Gonçalo Miguel
