THE PROPERTY MARKET IN PORTUGAL

The property market in Portugal continues to attract the French

The property market in Portugal is still going strong. In just a few years, Portugal has become Europe's new Eldorado for investors, and continues to attract more and more foreigners. 

Since 2013, the residential property market has bounced back after 8 years of sharp falls linked to the subprime crisis. Portugal has gone from having a very local economy, with little tourism and little presence on the international scene, to a situation that is attractive to foreigners. 

According to Apemip, the Portuguese association of professionals in the property sector, 20% of property transactions were carried out by foreign buyers in 2018. In Lisbon, these investments accounted for 28% of the total value of sales. 

The French are the number 1 investors

To date, 50,000 French residents (including 16,611 new entries in the French Embassy's consular register in 2018) have settled in Portugal, and they continue to be the biggest investors, with almost 27% of transactions carried out by foreigners, ahead of the Brazilians and the Chinese.

These foreign investments This is mainly due to the introduction in 2009 of the status of non-habitual residentto attract investors, both retired and working.

The market grew by 10% in 2019

This influx of foreign investors has ultimately had an impact on the property market. Tourism, via tourist taxes, has contributed to the regeneration of historic city centres such as Porto. Property development projects have multiplied. According to INEResidential property prices rose by 10.3% in 2019. By way of comparison, the market fell by around 20% between 2008 and 2013.

Today, the property market in Portugal has regained its fair value and the market can be considered stable. As proof of this, the number of transactions, which had already been on the rise in recent years, rose again in 2018, by 16.6% year-on-year. Over the past year, 178,691 properties were sold, 80% of them in less than 6 months. This upturn has affected all of Portugal.

You can still get a good deal

Demand in the Portuguese property market in the first quarter of 2019 is as strong as ever, and supply is unfortunately not sufficient to meet it. As a result, prices are set to rise again this year. The Portuguese residential property market still offers some excellent opportunities. While some areas no longer offer the same potential for capital gains (Porto and Lisbon), others are still in the pipeline. The suburbs have become the new playground for local and foreign investors.