Portuguese real estate showed significant signs of rebound in 2014, according to data from the Portuguese Real Estate Agents Association (PREA). It has reported that residential property prices increased between 9% and 15% nationally in 2014.
The PREA added that the market has been boosted by heightened investor sentiment, with British buyers at the forefront of overseas buying interest. The Chinese and the French are also significant foreign buyer sectors, the former having shown increased interest in Portugal’s property market since the introduction of its Golden Visa scheme.
This scheme grants residency status for non-EU investments in real estate and revenues from Golden Visa purchases contributed an estimated €1.2bn to Portugal’s economy in 2014.
Increased tourism across the Eurozone in 2014 has also boosted demand for real estate, particularly in resort regions such as the Algarve, and the weak performance of the euro is expected to lead to a surge of demand as overseas buyers see increased value in their own currency.
Liam Bailey of Knight Frank says: “There is a growing sense that prices are low by historical standards and that there is considerable upside for early investors moving into these market.”
