News
The pulse of real estate, market insights & living in Portugal
Portugal ranks in Top 10 Best Countries to Raise a Family
Portugal ranked in first place, with a Family Relocation Score of 6.33, making it the best country to raise a family in the OECD. While the country performed well across the board, it excelled in financial factors. Families in Portugal benefit from affordable childcare, which costs on average 5 percent of household income, and the average monthly cost of essential utilities is quite low at €110.
“Steadiness and stability” in Portuguese property market
Further improvements in disposable incomes in tandem with the prospect of falling interest rates across the Eurozone should further facilitate activity within the real estate industry over the remainder of the year and particularly through 2025.
Portugal to Bring Back Tax Breaks In Order to Attract Foreigners
Portugal’s new government intends to reinstate tax breaks for foreigners in an effort to attract highly skilled workers to the country while also addressing the housing crisis. According to Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, the Finance Minister, the tax will exclude “dividends, capital gains and pensions,” meaning that the tax break of 20 per cent flat rate of income tax will be applicable to “salaries and professional income”.
House prices on the rise
Houses for sale in Portugal continue to become more expensive. House prices in Portugal rose by 2.8% in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, a trend that set the median cost of housing at 2,683 euros per square meter (euros/m2) at the end of June.
33% of houses sell within 1 week
Around 11% of the homes for sale in the first quarter of the year, were on the market for less than a week. 22% of these houses were on the market between two weeks and one month, 24% between one and three months, 34% between three months and one year, and 9% for more than a year. The percentage of express sales in Porto is 15%.
Portuguese real estate attracts 682 million in foreign investment in the first quarter of 2024
Real estate continues to attract investors to Portugal. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, foreign direct investment in real estate amounted to 682 million euros.