Difficulties with buying property in Portugal: a third world country..

Article:Housing prices in Portugal have outpaced income growth by 69% since 2015, according to a study.

Access to housing in Portugal is becoming increasingly difficult. In addition to the shortage of affordable homes on the market amid high demand, which is driving up housing prices, the country is facing a decline in purchasing power due to inflation and high mortgage interest rates. This scenario has led to Portugal becoming the third hardest country in the world to buy a home, according to a study analyzing the markets of 56 countries.

Measuring housing prices (nominal) against available income per capita, MoneyTransfers concluded that in the second quarter of 2023, Portugal was ranked as the third country in the world where access to housing is the most difficult, with a ratio of 169%. This means that housing prices have increased by 69% more than income growth since 2015. The situation is even worse only in Turkey (with an index of 197%) and Iceland (173%), according to the same study published last week.

"Portugal is facing a serious crisis in the real estate sector, partly due to an increase in purchases by foreign investors, but also due to a lack of new affordable housing being built," highlights a study by MoneyTransfers, adding that unlike Iceland, Portugal has more homes than people, although prices remain high.

The same study also highlights the countries where access to housing is most affordable, meaning where income levels are rising faster than housing prices. "On a global scale, the average housing price has increased by 3.0% over the last 12 months as of the second quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, 54 out of 56 countries tracked by the index continue to see growth. However, this does not pose a barrier to housing access in those countries that are the most affordable in the world," they explain.

But in which country is global access to housing the easiest? According to the same study, it is Brazil (66%), followed by Saudi Arabia (74%), Finland (91%), South Africa (92%), and Italy (92%).