Property || Foreign property buyers are back with a vengeance. New data out this week shows that the number of foreigners buying property in Portugal increased by 90% between April and June 2014 – with the Government’s Golden Visa programme set to bring in €1.5 billion this year.
‘Top of the pops’ when it comes to districts are Faro and Lisbon. The news comes from APEMIP (the national real estate professionals’ association) which has released figures showing the two areas registered the greatest amount of foreign investment in real estate during these three months.
Indeed, the Algarve accounted for 37% of all of the country’s foreign property investment. A total of 2,424 homes were purchased by foreigners in the region, with the UK (964), France (504) and China (180) topping purchaser nationalities.
In Lisbon, the Chinese led the way (1,688 buyers), followed by the French (240) and Brazilians (192). In all, the city area accounted for 26% of foreign investment in Portuguese property.
APEMIP added that the districts of Leiria, Setúbal, Porto, Coimbra and Funchal also saw “a considerable number of investments”.
On a general level, data shows that 6,540 foreigners bought real estate in Portugal during the three-month period – which represents a nearly 90% increase compared to the first three months of 2014.
Taking the first six months of the year as a whole, over 10,000 foreigners invested in Portuguese real estate.
APEMIP president Luís Lima believes that foreign investment is on track to bringing in around €1.5 billion, which “proves” the importance of the Government’s Golden Visa scheme – the residency authorisation granted to all those who make a capital transfer of €1 million or more; who create at least 10 jobs; or who buy a ‘luxury’ property (minimum price tag: €500,000).
Foreign property investment up 90%
