Portugal first choice for US, French and Italian home buyers
6 March, 2019 Economy
Portugal was the country of choice for US, French and Italian nationals looking to buy a retirement or second home in Europe. According to a study produced by ListGlobally, the largest online property platform in the world for house seekers, Portugal was the number one property investment destination for the French (34%), Americans (5.68%) and Italians (6.04%). The study shows that despite the growing demand by foreigners for property in Portugal last year, these continue to look for good deals with investors seeking properties in the €318,889 price bracket. The French and Americans were the groups which showed more willingness to buy homes that were more expensive with average prices of €218,000 and €318,000 respectively. Between 2017 and 2018 the Italians were willing to increase their budget at the moment it came to buy in Portugal (+21%). Théo Plantier, who focuses on the Portuguese market for ListGlobally states that “Portugal is a very attractive country because despite an across-the-board rise in house prices per square metre, it is still one of the cheapest countries in Europe to buy a house, representing 20% of all of house sales. The most attractive price range for overseas buyers is between €150,000 and €400,000. In 2018 the intention to buy from overseas citizens was centred mainly around Faro (22%), Lisbon (11%) and Setúbal (8%). In terms of average purchase prices, Lisbon stands out with demand pushing prices up 168%, from €429,000 in 2017 to €1,148,286 in 2018. On the other hand, prices in and around Faro have remained more stable while Porto saw price increase of 23% from €224,000 to nearly €276,000.
