Branded residences are houses or apartments, but with services traditionally associated with hotels, such as food, laundry, babysitting, among others.

"The branded housing market is independent from the traditional housing market. They are not competing products from any angle of analysis. The price of branded housing will continue to rise as long as supply lags behind demand, but this rise, in itself, will not affect the price of housing for the Portuguese", highlighted Pedro Fontainhas, executive director of the Portuguese Association of Residential Tourism and Resorts (APR), in response to questions from Lusa.

Still, he acknowledged, "the growth of this segment may raise concerns related to gentrification and the rising cost of living in surrounding areas," noting that "it is possible that, as the market expands, public debates and political considerations will arise about its impact on local communities, although, typically, the areas chosen to build 'branded residences' are, to begin with, already established or on the way to becoming prime areas."

Hugo Santos Ferreira, president of APPII -- Portuguese Association of Real Estate Developers and Investors has a similar opinion. "This type of asset only works in a 'resort' environment, where there is no housing, that is, where it makes no sense to have housing," he said. The association leader even considers that the impact is "zero", because "these are locations where affordable housing would never have a place".

In turn, António Frias Marques, president of the National Association of Property Owners (ANP), believes that "in relation to traditional owners", this market does not appear to be very interesting. "Only a hotel chain that is equipped and has everything set up can provide this service," he highlighted, emphasizing that in relation to the traditional owner, the most normal thing is to only provide housing and not other services.

Asked whether owners could be selling properties that would later be used in this type of business, the ANP leader does not rule out that this does not happen "residually", but he stressed that this concept comes from the United States and that, in that country, "when this type of luxury residence appears, it is always in areas with a stunning landscape, where there are no neighbors nearby", something that is not easy in Portugal, with the exception of areas such as the Douro Valley.

Also for João Cília, executive president (CEO) of the real estate agency Porta da Frente Christie's, this market does not affect house prices. "These projects are developed on rural or urban land intended for commerce and services, which includes tourism," he highlighted. Thus, he highlighted, "these are lands that cannot be used for housing without changing the local PDM", that is, they do not prevent the increase in housing supply and "therefore have no impact on the upward trend in prices in the housing market".

The Association of Real Estate Professionals and Companies of Portugal (APEMIP), in turn, said that the target audience for these residences is mainly foreigners. "Branded residences are typically very attractive to international investors, as the hotel brand is a guarantee, especially in less consolidated markets," he said, indicating that since the purchase price "is quite high, foreigners with greater purchasing power end up being the target of these projects."