8.5% of the Property Sales in Portugal in 2019 Were to Non-Residents
The National Statistics Institute (INE) of Portugal published its reports on property transactions of 2019. The Institute gathers the information through administrative sources. These sources include registry and notary offices. The data-collecting work is done by the Directorate-General for Justice Policy of the Ministry of Justice. According to the statement, almost 9% of the property transactions had non-residents on the buying side. Investors who had the biggest share in property purchases were French nationals. Following them, UK buyers got the second place on the chart.
Year-on-Year Statistics of Foreign Purchases of Property
The information shared by the National Statistics Institute suggests that 2019 was calmer than 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the number and value of property acquisitions by non-residents increased by 19.2% and 22.6% respectively. The same variables were 14.5% and 22.2% in 2018. This overwhelming increase spanning over two years was driven back to smaller changes in 2019. Last year, property acquisitions by non-residents decreased in number by 2%. The value, on the other hand, increased by 1%.
Data on the Average Value of Transactions
The National Statistics Institute’s report shows that the average value of properties sold to non-residents in 2019 was EUR 176,429. This amount is 3.1% higher than the same variable of 2018. When the comparison is made between the total average of transactions and the average of purchases made by non-residents, the difference is striking. According to the INE, “This figure is 57 percent higher than the average value of total transactions, a difference similar to that in 2018.”
French nationals acquired most of the property sold in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, 18.1% of the value of properties bought by non-residents belonged to French investors. Second on the list were investors from the UK. UK residents were responsible for the 17.3% of the value of transactions.
Chinese Investors Lead the Average Value of Transactions
Average value of transactions realized by Chinese investors was EUR 373,071 in 2019. According to the INE, this value is more than twice the average value of properties sold to residents abroad.
37.7% of the total value of transactions were channeled into the Algarve region. Algarve was followed by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Lisbon Metropolitan Area was responsible for 35.8% of the purchases.
The INE’s report discloses that the total number of property transactions in Portugal decreased by 4.7% in 2019. However, the average value of these transactions increased by 4.1%.