Portuguese real estate no longer needs more laws. It needs more capacity to execute.

In recent years, the debate on housing in Portugal has been dominated by an almost endless succession of legislative proposals. The rental regime is changed, taxes are changed, tax incentives are created, support programs are announced, procedures are simplified, new packages of measures are presented. With each new Government, the hope is renewed that, this time, the solution is finally found.

But it is enough to look at reality to realize that the problem remains practically the same.

There is still a lack of houses.

That was precisely why I was struck by a phrase recently uttered by two lawyers specializing in real estate: "It is not because we change two or three laws that houses will grow like mushrooms."

It´s a simple statement, but profoundly true.

I have been following the real estate market for more than three decades and I have learned a lesson that sometimes seems forgotten in the public debate: a good law has never built a single house.

Those who build houses are people. They are promoters. They are investors. They are architects, engineers, banks, contractors, construction workers, municipalities and dozens of entities that, every day, participate in an extremely complex process. Legislation can facilitate this path or hinder it. But it never replaces the ability to execute.

Perhaps the time has come to change the way we discuss housing.

For too long we have treated this problem as an essentially political issue. Today I believe that it is mainly an operational issue.

A house is not born when a minister announces a package of measures. It is born much earlier, when there is land compatible with urban planning, when a project is developed, when it is appreciated by the various competent entities, when there is funding, when there is construction capacity and when this whole process takes place within predictable deadlines.

This is precisely where Portugal continues to fail.

We often discuss tax incentives, but much less the time it takes to get licensed.

We talk about VAT rates, but we forget about the lack of technical resources in many municipalities.

We debate the impact of international funds, but rarely do we analyze the difficulty that a project faces in obtaining all the necessary opinions.

We criticize investors or promoters, when often the real obstacle is the inability of the system to decide in a timely manner.

In recent months I have written several times about the need to increase the supply of housing. I remain convinced that this is the biggest challenge in the Portuguese market. But I also believe that we must make some self-criticism as a sector.

For too long we have entertained the idea that a legislative change would be enough to unblock the market.

A law was changed.

An immediate change was expected.

Then another one would be changed.

And another one.

However, the houses remained exactly where they were.

To be built.

Successive governments, regardless of their political color, have also often fallen into the temptation of announcing new measures instead of resolving existing blockages. Programs, strategies, and working groups have been created. Diagnoses, reports, and plans have been produced. Many of them technically well prepared.

But between strategy and work there is a space where Portugal continues to waste too much time.

This space is called execution.

It does not mean that legislative changes are not necessary. Some are important and even urgent. The simplification of licensing, greater fiscal predictability and more stable rules are essential conditions to attract investment and reduce risk.

But none of these measures will produce results if the administrative machine continues to function at the pace of an economy that no longer exists.

We live in a profoundly different market from the one we knew twenty years ago. Real estate has become more professional, more international and much more demanding. Investors are looking for predictability. Banks analyze risk more rigorously. Construction costs have increased significantly. Execution times are decisive for the financial viability of any project.

Today, time has become one of the most valuable assets in the sector.

Each month lost represents financial costs, construction inflation, uncertainty and, often, projects that are simply no longer viable.

Perhaps that is why we should start measuring the success of public policies differently.

Instead of asking how many laws have been passed, perhaps we should ask how many homes have actually made it to the market.