The market is worth almost 4 times the world's GDP and that its growth has been driven by the residential segment, accounting for 79% of the total value, reveals the latest report from consulting firm Savills.

The consultant says that this growth in the value of the real estate market was driven by the residential segment, which presented itself as the largest portion of the real estate universe, accounting for 79% of the total value.

Going to the numbers, presented by the Real Estate Journal, between 2019 and 2020, the value of the residential segment grew 8% to $258.5 billion, especially due to the Chinese market.

In this case, China today contributes 30% of the total value of the residential segment, with growth of 13% recorded by 2020, as a result of strong price increases and new supply.

Ricardo Garcia, Residential Director at Savills Portugal, says that "the residential market has benefited from high liquidity in the market, a growing trend in demand for upper-medium segment, and higher priced properties, and overall demand for second homes."

"This trend has been accentuating in 2021, specifically in the second half of the year, and the value of the residential market is expected to continue to increase in 2022. In Portugal, we feel an increase in growing demand, particularly for villas and for second homes."

The global commercial property segment was down 5% in 2020, to $32.6 billion. However, Savills believes that this slight decline did not have a significant knock-on effect, as commercial landlords kept their investments safe during the pandemic and transactions of high-quality assets maintained strong values.

By the end of 2021, the value of this segment is expected to recover, making up for the declines of 2020 and reaching $34.3 billion by the end of this year, which will represent a new high.

When it comes to land for agricultural activities, the segment is currently worth $35.4 billion, with a drop of 7% recorded in 2020, as a result of the decline in prices of this asset category in South America, a reflection of political instability phenomena and the impact of Covid-19 in this region of the globe.