Foreign investors continue to look to Portugal, particularly Lisbon, as the real estate market paradise.
Nationally, the French invest the most, accounting for 29% of the total, but Brazilian investment is growing at 19%, followed by the English with 11%, the Chinese with 9%, and Angolans with 7.5%.
According to a study by PwC and the Urban Land Institute, Lisbon is the leading real estate investment destination in Europe.
Still, according to this study, Lisbon is seen as a risky star, which means that it is worth taking the risk of investing in it, given that there will be a long-term financial return.
Some reasons for the growing interest in the Portuguese real estate market
Long-term financial return
In Portugal real estate is relatively cheap especially compared to other European countries and investment returns are high, especially because there is a lot of demand, which keeps increasing year after year. The bet on short-term rental for tourist purposes has been a trend and has attracted investors.
Best European Tourist Destination Award
In 2018 Portugal received 23 million tourists, 7.5% more than the previous year, and was recently elected by the World Travel Awards as the Best European Tourist Destination.
The political and social stability in the country
In an age of uncertainty caused by trade tensions between the US and China and Brexit, the political and social stability experienced in Portugal is seen as a competitive advantage in attracting more foreign investment, not only in real estate but also at the level of creation. of companies and businesses.
According to the Global Peace Index, Portugal is the 3rd most peaceful country in the world, in 163 countries, having risen two positions since the previous year.
The ease and speed of the property acquisition process in Portugal
In Portugal, it is not mandatory to hire a lawyer to buy a property, but it is seriously advisable as this will ensure that the purchase process will be done according to the law and will not have any unpleasant surprises in the future. The great rush to the Portuguese real estate market also increased the number of curious in search of opportunities, which do not always act with loyalty, and many schemes and fraudulent businesses are known to deceive those who may have less knowledge of the law.
Advice from a lawyer in this type of business is quite common, especially from promising buyers who are the most unprotected part of this business, especially foreigners, who are the easiest target for scams and illegalities.
Hiring a lawyer allows for the remote handling of bureaucratic procedures, verification of the documentation of the property, confirmation of the real ownership of the property, the legality of the buildings, the existence of liens or burdens on it, and, most importantly, the guarantee. that the promissory agreement protects your interests and meets all legal requirements, while facilitating any procedure since in Portugal lawyers have the power to perform certain notarial acts, such as powers of attorney, signature acknowledgments, certification of translations, etc.
Investing in a home purchase is of great economic relevance from the point of view of those who buy and a more experienced investor in this field can ensure that a lawyer’s work, despite having an associated cost, can ultimately correspond to considerable time and money savings for the buyer.
