At a Glance: Demand soars for property across Portugal
Demand has soared for property across Portugal, according to new research from TheMoveChannel.com. The portal´s latest infographic compares Portugal´s property market now to two years ago and reveals that enquiries have surged by one-third on a national level, as interest returns outside of the Algarve.
Lisbon is now the most-searched property hotspot in Portugal, according to TheMoveChannel.com, accounting for 4.33 per cent of all Portugal searches on the site in the 12 months to February 2014, up from 3.61 per cent in the 12 months to February 2012. The Portuguese capital knocked Albufeira off the top search spot. The Faro town was the subject of 9.63 per cent searches in 2012´s At a Glance report, but its share has now dropped to 3.26 per cent, as buyers begin to look all over Portugal for real estate investments.
Indeed, the Algarve accounts for five of the 10 most searched-for Portuguese locations on TheMoveChannel.com, down from six two years ago. Leiria and Lisbon made up the remaining four locations in 2012, but Lisbon now makes up three of the remaining five, alongside Setubal and Braga – an indicator of how varied and widespread interest has become.
The Algarve still receives the majority (60 per cent) of enquiries, but its share has fallen from 62.59 per cent in 2012. Leiria also saw its number of enquiries dip 44 per cent and Viana do Castelo saw enquiries slide 20 per cent. Apart from these three, though, every district in Portugal saw enquiries increase in 2014 compared to 2012.
Lisbon led the way with a rise of 55 per cent in enquiries, taking its share to the third highest in the country. The district of Madeira has the second highest share of enquiries, attracting 12.49 per cent, up from third place.
Overall, enquiries for Portuguese real estate have soared 33 per cent across the last two years.
The At a Glance infographic also analyses the number of searches on Google for property in Portugal. Demand there has surged too. 39,000 searches for “property in Portugal” were logged between March and May 2013, 10 times the 3,600 recorded across the same period in 2011.
Portugal-related keywords that previously appeared in no Google searches also began to be used by online house-hunters. “Portuguese properties”, for example, was not searched for at all between March and May 2011 but appeared in 60 searches between March and May 2013.
Google searches for “property in Portugal” slowed to 3,780 between December 2013 and February 2014, but even with the seasonal decline in interest remained significantly higher than the same three months two years ago.
Editor Ivan Radford comments: “What a difference two years makes! In 2011, Portugal´s property market was hanging on by the Algarve. The Faro region was driving the majority of interest and activity, with Portugal´s lifestyle appeal continuing to attract bargain holiday home hunters.
“Now, though, Portugal´s property market is coming back to life. The 2012 At a Glance infographic showed activity centred on the Faro district, but the updated 2014 infographic sees activity spread out evenly across the whole map.
“Alongside lifestyle buyers, encouraged by growing economic confidence in Europe, the rise in interest has been driven by investors taking advantage of the country´s Golden Visa residency scheme. For these buyers, cities such as Lisbon are a priority rather than the coastal towns of the Algarve. The surge in demand for property in the capital may not have ended the dominance of the Algarve, but shows how much the national market has improved in 24 months, with all but three districts enjoying a rise in enquiries.
“Growth is present at all stages of the buying process: initial interest on Google has increased, engaged buyers searching by location on TheMoveChannel.com have also risen, and that interest has converted into more enquiries. After years of struggling, 2014 looks to be a good year for Portugal´s property market.”
Click here to see the full infographic.
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with more than 800,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is http://www.TheMoveChannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack’s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN. Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.