The investment company from the Netflix series is entering Portugal.

Real estateagency Imobiliária Agency plans to open four offices in Portugal and has already hired 30 people. The company expects a turnover of six to eight million euros in its first year of operation.

The Agency, the real estate company founded by Maurizio Umansky and already the subject of a series on Netflix ("Buying Beverly Hills"), has just arrived in Europe via Portugal. The bet will be on the residential luxury real estate market, at a time when more and more Americans are looking for homes in that country.

The brand plans to open four offices - in Lisbon, Cascais, Porto and the Algarve - and already has 30 employees. The aim is to achieve a turnover of six to eight million euros in the first year of operation in Portugal and to have a portfolio worth 500 million euros.

"We see Portugal as an entry point to Europe," says Ayres Neto, managing partner of The AgencyPortugal, noting that "Portuguese real estate is in huge demand among California residents." "Almost 50% or 60% of Americans coming here are from California. They are fascinated by the climate and other characteristics of Portugal," he notes.

Despite the strong interest from Americans, he notes that "there is not just one type of customer." "Fortunately, in Portugal we can find offers that satisfy all kinds of needs and requirements." He says that in the premium segment in which The Agency operates, "people want to live in Portugal, not just invest."

Launch of American real estateagency in Portugal

will start with the opening of two offices: one in the capital on Avenida da Liberdade and another in Cascais at the end of the year. This will be followed in 2024 by a third office in Porto and another in the Algarve. When the project to introduce the brand to the Portuguese market began, Ayres Neto envisioned opening an agency in Lisbon with about 25 consultants. "Today there are more than 30 of us," he says, noting that he interviews "colleagues from other companies" "almost every day."

The Agency is looking for "people with a special profile". "I am not looking for quantity but quality: 90% of my consultants speak two to four languages," he explains.

Prospects in Portugal

he sees for Portugal are encouraging, as "foreign investment is constant." "The middle, high and very high market will grow very fast. It's inevitable," he says, rejecting the idea that only foreigners are investing in these segments. "There are a lot of Portuguese coming back."

Ayres Neto rejects the idea of a real estate bubble in the national market. He has lived in the US and says there are "no similarities" to the US real estate bubble. "Portugal has one of the highest rates of real estate ownership in the world and very high levels of equity. Market indicators do not support the bubble theory," he says.