The Market Seen from the Street: Between Passion and Misinformation

Beyond being my "livelihood," real estate is truly a passion of mine.

 I have been trying to deepen my knowledge over the past few years, implementing many of the ideas I have come up with. Others, I have not yet had enough courage to pursue. I could have done much more, that's a fact. However, I could also have done much less.

I have learned a lot from solving complex problems. These experiences have been transformative and have allowed me to verify in practice the idea I have been developing about the relationships between the various stakeholders in the sector. We live in a market where misinformation and half-truths are "good practice and the shortcut to financial success." Examples of inconsistency occur in all activities that make up the sector, placing productivity and efficiency at very low levels. The old maxim "It's half the world deceiving the other half" fits perfectly.

I have always been critical of the way the market (in general) communicates, informs, and operates. I confess that I do not understand what is meant by "value creation." Making money at all costs, "considering the misinformation of others," does not seem to me the best principle of action, but I respect it.

In recent months, a noticeable decline in the dynamism of the global real estate market is evident. Various macroeconomic, political factors, and the biased statistics we have access to in Portugal demonstrate this reality.  On the other hand, we have a fantastic country, with fantastic conditions to evolve the sector. I highlight the lack of asset supply (from various segments) that meets the increasingly evident needs of demand.

I don't understand politics and management yet; I'm still learning. However, I dare say that our vision is very short-sighted regarding the real estate sector. We live off fables and stories. It seems that discussing reality seriously and transparently doesn't matter. I believe this will be one of the main gaps (alongside the lack of political and fiscal stability, etc.) in creating conditions to attract more capital, which can genuinely create value, responding to the needs of PEOPLE/BUSINESSES/USERS.

In a world where information transfer is instantaneous, does it make sense to continue with the same ways of "communicating, informing, and operating"?

A few days ago, I discussed this topic with a colleague whom I greatly respect and who has taught me a lot. We have very different ideas. It was a good discussion, and the conclusions were similar.  It's very risky to "deviate from the norm" in terms of how to "communicate, inform, and operate" in the real estate sector. However, it's this difficulty that inspires us to invent, experiment, fail, and get back up. We move slower but with an unwavering purpose.

The future began a few years ago. The transformation of the industry is huge. Let's not be deceived by the melancholy of "more of the same because it has always worked."

See you soon,

André Casaca