Prices of properties are still rising in Portugal without signs of a slow down. Lisbon is the most expensive city with an average price of 2,753€ per square metre at the end of this year’s second quarter, i.e. 1,500€ higher than the national average price of 969€ per square metre. Continue reading
Portugal is Hottest Destination of 2018
Last month, during the Virtuoso Travel Week, which took place in Las Vegas, Portugal was named Hottest Destination of 2018 at the Virtuoso Awards.
Virtuoso is a network of luxury travel agencies with more than 15,000 advisors worldwide, of which 9,000 are from the USA. Continue reading
Alojamento Local: The New Rules
On July 17th, as a result of the increasing number of privately owned short-term rental properties in Portugal, especially in the areas of Lisbon and Porto and the consequent impact on the quality of lifes of residents, the government has taken action and voted on alterations to the existing Alojamento Local legislation, which will become effective 60 days after promulgation. Continue reading
Mortgages in Portugal
Since interest rates are low, financing the purchase of a property through a national bank loan could be an interesting option, especially because since 2010, Portuguese banks have not been lending as much as they are now. During the first four months of this year, almost 3 billion euros were lent for the acquisition of property. Continue reading
Portugal’s New Prosperity
Portugal is fashion. As described in my blog post Portugal’s New Popularity, 2017 was a record year in both property sales and tourist arrivals, contributing to the fastest economic growth in this century, quicker than the European Union average. An estimate by Statistics Portugal (INE) revealed that Portugal’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 1.5% in 2016 to 2.7% last year. Continue reading
Tourism Tax in the Algarve?
Some weeks ago, the intermunicipal community of the Algarve (AMAL – Comunidade Intermunicipal do Algarve) agreed on the introduction of a region-wide tourist tax, although details have not yet been decided.
As it seems, out of the 16 councils, only Silves voted against the introduction of a tourist tax in the Algarve. Continue reading
Portugal’s New Popularity
Everyone who recently visited Portugal must have felt it’s new vibe. It’s almost as if it awoke from a long rejuvenating sleep, presenting itself to the world in a more attractive shape since the end of the recession in 2013.
Hidden behind the big neighbour Spain for decades, Portugal suddenly overcame its unpopularity and became a hotspot for both visitors and investors. For its inhabitants this certainly did not come as a surprise as we have been asking ourselves for a long time why its varied natural beauty, superb gastronomy, welcoming people and rich cultural heritage have not been enough to convince many people to explore this country. Continue reading
2017 – What a Year!
It is now official: 2017 was the best year ever in terms of property sales, at least since 2009 when this sort of data was collected and registered for the first time.
It certainly does not come as a surprise that the Portuguese property market has seen a massive recovery since 2014, after a heavy 5 year recession period but probably hardly anyone anticipated such a fast recovery. A recovery which has become a new boom. Continue reading
Local Lodging and the Simplified Tax Regime in 2018
After the heavily criticised proposal of the State Budget for 2018, presented on the 13th of October 2017, which aimed to drastically change the Simplified Tax Regime (Regime Simplificado), the government has now presented a milder version.
Nevertheless, the new rules will affect most of the self-employed professionals such as lawyers, architects, doctors, journalists and owners of holiday rental properties, with an annual invoiced income over 27,360€. Continue reading
Algarve Insights 