The best time is now Wise investment, pleasures of life & European residency. Right here European residency - Golden Visa Visa Investors Eye Recovery in Portugal Property Prices Investors considering the Portuguese Golden Visa scheme will be encouraged by the recent recovery in property prices following 6 years of decline. Prices of real estate fell more than 25% since the credit crisis in 2007 however figures from the last year show a turn in prices and sentiment in the market no doubt assisted by the level of international investment chasing the golden visa benefits. Real estate prices rose by 0.9% in Q2 of 2013, followed by a rise of 0.4% in Q3 and 1.4% in Q4. The latest RICS Portuguese housing market survey shows positive news. Developers are seeing rising prices in Lisbon. This is perhaps helped by the influx of international buyers in the capital chasing property above €500,000 in order to obtain the golden visa. New buyer enquiries increased for the 11th consecutive month. It follows recent news from Deloitte in its Property Index Report that revealed Portugal to be one of the most affordable residential markets in Europe along with Germany and Denmark as the top three top destinations. Despite the positive news prices of property in Portugal remain well below their peak leading to a potential opportunity for today’s international investor seeking the residency visa. Portugal’s Economy Recovers Helped By Golden Visa Program The Portuguese government has now issued over 700 golden visas since the scheme began in 2012 and numbers are accelerating. The deputy Prime Minister Paulo Porta is projecting over €500 million in investment in 2014 through the residency program so we expect that will typically be up to 1000 golden visas in the next year. Portugal is not a huge country, just 10 million population, and property above €500,000 is very much at the higher end in a country where average prices are a lot lower. Hence 1000 people chasing a limited supply of properties over €500,000 in the coming year can only have one effect on the market and that is to push up prices. We are already seeing this effect in Lisbon in particular where developers are giving minimal discounts due to the number of international investors now chasing new properties for the Portugal golden visa. It looks like a very good time to buy as prices are around 22.5% below their peak reached in 2007 and prices appear to have stabilized. The first three quarters of 2013 show flat prices after 6 years of decline and economic growth has returned to Portugal in the last half of 2013 with GDP rising 1.7% pa in the last quarter of 2014. We await data on house prices for Q4 2013 and Q1 2014 but expect these to be positive for the property market. Lisbon Property Prices Lower Than Most Major European Cities Prices for residential real estate in Lisbon are lower than most major European cities. Figures presented at Portugal’s 10th Property Conference held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in London last week showed Lisbon to be one of the most affordable cities for property investment. With an average price of €2600 per m2 Lisbon was lower than Barcelona (€4700 per m2) and Madrid (€5200 per m2). London toped the list with an average price of €21,800 per m2 more than 8 times that of Portugal’s capital city. There were 3500 foreign buyers of property in Portugal during the first quarter, many of them encouraged by the residency visas now on offer for purchases above €500,000. Visa Property Options in Lisbon In addition to resort property on the Algarve and silver coast we also have a large selection of property in the city of Lisbon and just outside the city in Cascais. The Portugal investor visa program has been fuelling interest in property over €500,000 in Lisbon. Prices are rising and choice is reducing. €15 million was invested in Portugal in one week last month under the golden visa program. There is a lot of interest from China, India, Russia and the Middle East. Lisbon is a popular choice with an international airport just 10 minutes from the centre of the city offering excellent links to the rest of Europe and worldwide.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 10:07:03 +0000