Foreign property buyers are looking at Portugal – especially the Algarve in particular – as the ideal location for a new home and business, says a report published online by business and media group OPP.
In fact, the article states that Algarve property enquiries increased 467% in the last three years – from around 42,000 to nearly 240,000 – and in many cases, buyers are looking for a ‘two-in-one’ property where they can live as well as set up their business.
“Increasingly, we are finding that buyers are looking at the Algarve as a potential property business location,” Chris White from Ideal Homes Portugal told OPP.
“Demand from tourists for rental properties across the Algarve is strong and there are some excellent ready-made business opportunities available, particularly for those who want to live on-site,” he added.
With property prices undergoing a “gentle recovery” and the rental sector stabilising for the “first time in almost four years”, White says “there’s definitely a sense in Portugal that the economic hard times are behind us.
“It’s a new dawn for the property market and many business buyers are opting to pick up the perfect property now, while prices are low and they can bag a real bargain.”
Rural tourism is also attracting “keen interest” in Portugal, the article reads, and those who prefer the “peace and space of the Algarve’s countryside can opt for a rural estate with flexible business potential”.
Luís Rocha Antunes, equity partner at property consultants Cushman and Wakefield (C&W), had already said earlier this year that “Portugal stopped being a forbidden country after the troika left” and that foreigners were responsible for around 80% of the country’s commercial property investments in 2014.
In March, it was reported that Portugal was the third European real estate market that attracted the most Chinese investment in 2014.
