Portuguese Property Prices Surging

Portuguese property prices surged by 7.9 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017 led by existing property.

Existing property rose by 9.2 per cent, whilst prices for new properties were up by 4.2 per cent, according to the latest data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Sales were up even more dramatically with a rise of 25.9 per cent from £3.8 billion in 2016 to £4.3 billion in 2017.

The Portuguese capital of Lisbon led the way, with impressive sales and property value growth, particularly in the city centre and historic parts of the popular city.

The buy to let market in Lisbon has rapidly grown as previously reported, with investors enjoying yields of over 5 per cent in the Portuguese capital.

A favourable tax regime for new investors as previously reported in our feature ‘Property Tax in Portugal‘ and the success of the Portuguese ‘Golden Visa’ programme launched in 2012 has been largely credited for the boom in Portuguese property over the last few years.

The scheme offers direct access to citizenship for non-EU citizens after only six years and has attracted more than €2.5bn (£2.2bn) in investment during the four years it has been running.

It is not just the usual property investors that have been attracted to the country however.

Pop artist Madonna has reportedly spent £5 million on a mansion near the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.

It is thought that the singer bought the hilltop mansion help her adoptive son David further his football career, The eleven year-old is currently training with Benfica Football Club’s junior team.

The mansion is supposed to be a stunning building in the hilltops with a huge number of bedrooms and bathrooms all decorated in striking Islamic style, although there are huge plans for a redesign inside already.

If Portugal is good enough for the Queen of Pop, it can’t be a bad place to invest can it.