COMMERCIAL PROPERTY RENT INDEX FOR PORTUGAL: EXPLORING A FISCAL ADMINISTRATIVE MECHANISM - E-FATURA

This internship provides an insight on the creation attempt of a new rent index for commercial properties in Portugal, using monthly data, from an existing and functioning administrative mechanism - E-fatura, over the period 2016-2021. The mechanism E-fatura contains information about the Portuguese companies and individuals’ monthly billing. The purpose is to analyse if this information could be enough to translate into a new rent index or a proxy indicator without having to recur to lengthy classic methods,such as adjusting inquiries, or having to do a new type of specific census. In other words, the purpose is to try to extend the utility of an established receipt management mechanism in order to find if it could provide a detailed portrait of the commercial properties’ rent universe by itself. The information selected from E-fatura, although restricted to companies with economic activity related to the rental of real estate, is not exclusive to the renting universe of commercial properties and in that sense, it had to be limited and adapted to be in this line of work. Hedonic models were used for the index compilation and the method chosen was the time-dummy approach, first, by the adjacent time-dummy approach and second, by the (all-periods) pooled time-dummy method. After testing the different methods along with theoretical basis, a comparison between them is done, followed by an evaluation about the future viability of the index or proxy indicator. It was concluded that by using this approach, with all limitations considered, the computed index could capture macroeconomic dynamics and represent an overall correct picture of the market.