The French are more and more numerous to investing in real estate in Portugal. A weekly magazine recently sounded the alarm with this shocking sentence on the front page. The French millionaires who are buying up Portugal.

Real estate, a very, very French passion. The French love real estate. It is even the number 1 investment. An attraction that partly explains the surge in real estate prices in recent years. Accentuated by a level of very low rates allowing to indebt itself at lower cost.

It is true that more and more compatriots are investing in Portugal. In early February, the newspaper Visão was sounding the alarm with this shocking sentence. The French millionaires who are buying up Portugal. Let's be honest, this sentence is deliberately provocative and in no way reflects reality. The French are far from being solely responsible for the increase in the real estate market in Portugal.

The price of the m² in Lisbon or Porto, close to that of Lyon or Marseille

In addition to the relaxed lifestyle and guaranteed sunshine offered by Portugal, real estate prices have been very close to those in some major French cities for the past 3 years. Today, a ruin located in the historical center of Porto costs between 4000,00 and 5000,00€ per m². For a 85 m² in Lisbon the price per m² is varies between 3,500.00 and 5000,00€ depending on the area, the services offered, etc..

Despite this, Portugal is one of Europe's most attractive markets, and continues to attract a wide range of nationalities. Last year, foreign buyers accounted for 57% of the transactions conducted by this structure. The French were among the top three, along with Brazilians and Chinese.

What about the rentals

The price of rentals has also risen sharply at the beginning of 2019, as an example, a T2 apartment located not far from Boavista Avenue in Porto is rented around 1200,00 or 1400,00 €. Without offering quality services or even have heating. However, it is still possible to find rentals for less than 1000,00 €. On the other hand it will not be necessary to pretend to have quality services, nor even to be located in a beautiful district. 

The market will continue to evolve

Over the first three quarters of 2018, more than 132,000 properties were sold in Portugal, including 47,000 in the Lisbon region alone. This annual increase of 22%, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, generated a transaction volume of 17.9 billion euros, 30% higher compared to the same period in 2017.

The trend is not about to reverse. The share of foreign investors could increase further from 5% to 10% in 2019 leading to a price surge from 12% to 20%. The Franco-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates that there are 50,000 French expatriates in Portugal.

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