4 de April, 2019
With an appreciation of 41% in Lisbon and Porto in the last two years and a 50% increase in the volume traded, real estate in Portugal can be considered a public and critical success.
The most important thing, however, is that the exuberant performance is anchored in a single solid foundation: more money in the pocket. It’s a structural change that’s here to stay. The properties are yielding much more euros, because they are rented to tourists and expatriates who are able to afford much higher prices.
We highlight nine points to understand why properties in Portugal are attractive to investors, expatriates and residents.
Portugal competes with other European countries and Mediterranean destinations in the dispute for expatriates and tourists, however there is a conjunction of attributes that make the Portuguese proposal simply unbeatable. It is an offer of many advantages for one of the lowest costs in Europe.
Portugal is safer than 99% of the world, losing only to Iceland, New Zealand and Austria, according to the Global Peace Index of The Economist magazine. You walk quietly on the street, without worrying about assaults and mainly terrorism, common in the northern hemisphere and in the Mediterranean area.
Those who come to live or simply walk know that they will have quiet days, months and years, making all the difference in the demand for real estate for tourism or for expatriates.
Portugal receives with open arms. Hospitality is a matter of education and civility. The Portuguese are proud of their country, gastronomy, architecture, natural beauty and history. Please welcome and treat the visitor as a relative or friend.
Maybe they’ll even be offended if there’s no show of approval. The Portuguese have pleasure and make sure that the tourist and the expatriate enjoy the experience and feel at home.
Hospitality is priceless and is not easy to achieve if it is not spontaneous. There is no comparison with other regions where tourism is already seen as a plague to be avoided and that immigration is seen as a public problem.
Immigration in Portugal: see advantages and disadvantages of being an immigrant in the country.
Portugal’s climate is recognised as one of the best in Europe. Higher temperatures, sunny and with little rain. Brazilians may even find low temperatures, but Europeans disagree. The inhabitants of Northern Europe are going crazy. They escape months of cloudy skies, darkness, rain and cold.
Living in a country with warm, sunny weather is a blessing. It is something rare and therefore desired and valued. No wonder you have a legion of Englishmen living in the Algarve, French, Dutch and Germans on the streets of Lisbon, Porto and Braga, among others.
As if the advantages of quality of life were not enough, those who move to Portugal have the immense advantage of exemption from taxes on income obtained abroad for ten years.
French can save up to 45% on taxes. The 3,000€ retirement guarantees a lower middle class lifestyle in Paris or a life full of tours, restaurants, cafes, wines and much more in Portugal.
The same account is true for England, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and Norway, to name a few.
In financial terms and in terms of quality of life, there is no better place to set foot. Portugal is unbeatable for those who want to make more money when they retire.
From the point of view of real estate business, the foreigner who arrives soon looks for a house to live in. European pensioners’ money is a major driver of demand for the residential market, especially in major Portuguese cities such as Lisbon, Porto, Braga and also in the Algarve region.
With all these advantages, Portugal is very cheap. A house in London is five times more expensive than Lisbon. Beer costs three times as much and wine comes out twice as much. 70% of European capitals and 99 major European cities have a higher cost of living than Lisbon. It’s very worth moving to Portugal, where the money will take the expatriate further.
The issue of low cost of living also works for tourism, with lower costs for stay, meals, drinks, attractions and nightlife. The European tourist feels like a real tycoon in Portugal.
Brazil is large, but it is not even half of the more than 500 million potential customers in the European Union who can travel, live or invest in Portugal.
It’s a fundamental difference to the real estate business. While Brazil depends on domestic demand, Portugal can count on the economic success of other countries to obtain benefits in the real estate market and economy.
The European market is much more stable and developed than the Brazilian one. There will always be foreigners wanting to walk or live in Portugal, generating an important demand for real estate.
Unemployment in Portugal is at 6.7% and falling, GDP is growing 2.8% and the deficit fell from over 11% of GDP in 2010 to 0.5% in 2018. Portuguese governments have understood that fiscal responsibility is the best decision for the long term.
People have more money in their pockets, generating more demand for real estate. The country has done its homework and is much better prepared, making it a solid investment option.
Portugal has the highest return on investment in real estate in the whole of Western Europe and is the 7th in the entire European Union. An investor will receive 95% more rental income compared to France, for example.
The real estate business also generates substantially higher returns compared to financial investments in banks, which, by the way, do not have the best reputation due to default and billion-dollar fraud.
The most incredible thing is that the property for Portuguese tourists is also much better than the Brazilian one. Whoever sells the rented house in Brazil and invests here receives on average 50% more.
See a step-by-step guide to buying real estate in Portugal.
If you have only one basket, if you slip and drop it, you risk breaking all the eggs. Similarly, putting all your investments in one country and one currency is risky. Investing in Portugal improves your investment portfolio. It’s a refuge and a reserve. When Brazil has one more of its crises, you can count on the most stable incomes in Europe.
You can easily turn your European property into hard currency through a sale or you can count on monthly income to pay the bills. It is an excellent protection against the constant Brazilian exchange and economic crises.
What’s yours, nobody tastes. Portugal has a long history of respecting the legal system and property, making the real estate business secure. The acquisition process is better than the Brazilian one, because there is a guarantee that no one will be able to claim debts retroactively.
Ownership is indisputable and the price of property in areas with strong tourism tends to accompany the growth of wealth of families living in the common European market.
There are 35,000 new immigrants every year, 33,000 weddings, 1.8 million additional guests (occupying 18,500 apartments) and 11,000 new university students in the country.
We would need 97,500 additional beds to meet the growing demand for immigration, weddings, tourists and students in a country that delivers only 10,000 new properties per year.
In a market that does not keep pace with the expansion of demand, prices will continue to rise. There is still a huge pressure to increase prices in the main Portuguese cities.
With such a strong demand without consistent supply, properties are sold or rented very quickly . From the investor’s point of view it is an excellent market, because repentance does not generate any loss (it can be sold more easily), reinforcing the concept of value reserve.
No investment is risk-free, but Portugal has solid fundamentals that justify past performance and that allow us to glimpse a continuity of appreciation and attractiveness in the coming years.
If you intend to invest in the real estate market in Portugal, we recommend that you always do so with the guidance of an experienced lawyer and consultant. We rely on Atlantic Brigde, a consulting firm that can help you make the best deal when investing in real estate in the country. Click here to talk to a company consultant, with no commitments.
Article published on the Euro Tips website: https://www.eurodicas.com.br/por-que-comprar-imoveis-em-portugal/
Author: Marcio Fenelon
Real Estate Investment
Author:
Atlantic Bridge
