'12% of homes sold are already to foreigners'

According to the Portuguese Bank

The average transaction amount from non-residents is 95% higher than that of residents. The real estate market is still controlled by national buyers, but the second half of this year was a record year for the number of registered transactions by foreigners. According to Portuguese Bank data published Wednesday in the Financial Stability Report for November, "in the four quarters ending in June, non-residents accounted for 11.7% of the volume of residential real estate transactions in Portugal." Compared to the previous year, the share of foreigners was 8.9%.

The volume of transactions in the real estate market

According to the Portuguese Bank, the volume of transactions on the real estate market with the participation of non-residents''almost reached 30 billion euros in the second quarter of this year. In 2021, in the same period, it amounted to less than 25 billion euros. According to Real Estate Confidential, 801 properties in Lisbon's urban regeneration zone alone were sold to foreign buyers, 36% more than in the same period in 2021.

Foreign buyers

The main foreign buyers in the first half of the year in Lisbon's urban regeneration zone were the French, who made 15% of all transactions. However, over the past five years, foreigners with Chinese citizenship have been the most likely to buy property in Lisbon's urban regeneration zone: according to Real Estate Confidential, 1,371 properties have been sold to Chinese' since June 2017'buyers, accounting for about 18% of all transactions with foreign buyers during this period.

The impact of foreign buyers on prices

In its November Financial Stability Report, the Portuguese Bank notes that "residential real estate transactions by non-residents have increased significantly recently, especially involving buyers from countries outside the European Union." As demand rises, so do real estate prices. "House price growth has been brighter in regions where the share of non-residents is higher and the share of transactions financed by domestic loans is smaller," the regulator said in its report.

Financing by foreign''bank, averaging €265,000, exceeding the average amount of deals with buyers with local financial location by 55%.

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