Portugal begins to take “first steps” into the “luxury” real estate market.

Take the “first steps” in the market com. superprime Real estate. This is how Alex Koch, partner at luxury real estate consultancy Knight Frank, categorizes Portugal’s current situation in this business sector. In an interview with Jornal Economico (JE), the person in charge said that the Algarve region is the main attraction for investors and revealed that this year a Portuguese person bought a residence in Quinta do Lago worth between 20 and 25 million dollars. euro. “I firmly believe that it will not be long until our first very big businessMain” [mercados onde tenham ocorrido pelo menos três transações superiores a 25 milhões de dólares].

How do you analyze this sector of the real estate market in Portugal?

Although the supermarketprime minister The Portuguese market is still taking its first steps, and we are now witnessing a continuous flow of transactions in the Quinta do Lago, Quinta da Marina, Melides / Comporta or Douro axis with prices exceeding €10 million. This is due to an increasing number of buyers choosing to spend more of their time in these properties. This “common core” residential trend, seen in similar markets, coupled with improving construction quality over the past decade, contributes to this market continuing to be a very prime destination. Algarve has been the leader in supplying new builds brought to market in excellent condition, so I firmly believe it won’t be long until the first super-premium deal.prime minister.

Last week in Portugal witnessed a political crisis. What impact could it have on the real estate sector for international investors?

In the UK, we are also about to hold an election in October next year, and the discussion is centered around whether investors will be nervous about buying into the UK market, or whether they will wait to see the election results. Uncertainty is never a good thing, and in this market it is always a concern for investors entering.

A year ago we were talking about whether ending golden visas would have any impact on our market and in fact, it had none. Our customers were buying because they wanted to live locally, benefit from the quality of life, the cost of living in Portugal, and the cost of real estate compared to other European countries is much lower. Regarding the end of non-habitual residents, right now I don’t see any reason for the market to stop suddenly. I think we’ll still see a lot of people looking to move. One of the things that impressed me most about Portugal is the level of investment in infrastructure, which has been enormous over the past decade. This gave a lot of people more confidence.

I lived in the Algarve until I was sixteen in the 1970s and 1980s. There were no English schools in the Algarve at that time, so my parents put me on a plane to study in England. There are now waiting lists at all private foreign language schools in the Algarve, which shows that investors do not come to invest for just a few weeks a year. These people are moving and living their lives in Portugal because now we can work from anywhere.

But could areas like Quinta do Lago, Vilamoura or Comporta be affected in any way by this political crisis?

market with tickets Over 10 million is a niche market in Portugal, but with a constant and growing demand, especially for exceptional properties or complexes, as we like to call them, and in areas such as Comporta and Quinta do Lago, but also in Lisbon, where Quinta da Marinha is an excellent example of Consolidation and attention from international customers. Added to this are areas such as Porto and Douro, where products, such as wine estates, are in demand, sought by Americans, the English or customers from Northern Europe.

I think at these values ​​the market may see some slowdown while we understand the details of the whole political situation, but in super prime minister I think it will still be very active. Last year we saw two deals worth more than €20 million at Quinta do Lago. The buyers of these properties are people who already have assets in Portugal, not people who come straight from the plane.

These transactions are above 20 million euros. What nationalities are we talking about?

Well, the last one was Portuguese. People interested in places like Comporta are more from northern Europe and North America. We are seeing some investors from the Middle East and Asia, as well as expats from Asia, but the North American market is very strong, with a lot of interest in Lisbon. For the Algarve region, especially the Quinta de Lago, it is related to the UK, Ireland and some northern Europe.

We can expect more deals at the supermarket prime minister In Portugal next year?

I think the one thing you’ll notice about Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo in particular is the people. This is a trend that we have not yet seen in Cascais, in fact, people are buying houses and building houses for the sole purpose of selling them for rent and investment. They are buying up land and creating excellent housing prime minister. These types of properties are attractive to this market, as they are homes that need to be worked on from scratch because they are new. I think we will see at least one or two of these properties sold over the next 12 months, I’m sure of it.

Is the lack of direct flights from the US to the Algarve an obstacle to investment?

No, I go to the Algarve with my family almost every year, and we fly to Lisbon, then take a 2.5-hour drive on an empty highway to the Algarve. For those coming from the US, two and a half hours is nothing, and it takes about two and a half hours to cross London. If it’s a busy highway with a lot of traffic, then yes, this would probably be an issue.

In addition to this political crisis, what other challenges will the Portuguese real estate market face in 2024?

The cost of living and borrowing is an issue everywhere, but it doesn’t really affect super prime minister. So I don’t see this being a problem. It is difficult to ignore its political situation because it is a very important part for someone who does not know the market well to decide whether he wants to invest 25 million euros in the country. Investors should feel completely confident that there is a good opportunity.

There are two ongoing wars that are causing concern in the market. Fortunately for Portugal, it’s far from everything, and I think that’s a positive point. In addition to the political situation, which can have an impact, changes in taxes can have an impact. Again, let’s see how this situation develops.