en 
In Portugal, houses for sale are getting more and more
expensive, having risen by around 80% between 2010 and the third quarter of
2022, according to Eurostat. The purchase of housing by foreigners – who have a
greater financial capacity than the Portuguese – is one of the reasons behind
this increase, along with others, such as the lack of supply for high demand,
according to a report by idealista.
Could banning foreigners from buying homes in the national
territory help to ease the rise in housing prices? Although this measure is
being applied in Canada and being studied by the Government of the Balearic
Islands (Spain), market specialists consider that this is not a solution for
Portugal.
“I do not believe that the housing problem in Portugal will
be solved in this way and, on the other hand, it would have a very negative
impact on the entire economy”, says Amaro Laia, director and professor of the
postgraduate course in Real Estate Management and Valuation at ISEG, cited by
Jornal de Negócios. Júlio Lobão, assistant professor at the Faculty of
Economics of the University of Porto, also considers that “measures across
countries may not be adequate in a specific context”.
Find alternatives
It is necessary to look at other alternatives to combat the
rise in house prices in Portugal, consider the same specialists, who suggest
the end of tax benefits and tax reductions for international investors and the
extinction of golden visas for the real estate sector - which is already being
evaluated by the Government.
Another path will be to have greater articulation between
the public and private sectors too, for example, rehabilitate public housing,
defended Francisco Mota Ferreira, a consultant for private equity funds and
investors, quoted in the publication.
For 2023, a slowdown in the rise in house prices or even a
correction of values is already expected, given the high inflation and high-interest rates on housing loans, experts expect. These predictions are in line
with what other rating agencies say, such as Moody's, which estimates that
house prices in Portugal may fall by up to 3% in 2023. S&P Global Ratings
also predicts that Portugal is one of the European countries that will feel the
most intense fall in house prices this year, of -4.4%.
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Why is it no a surprise Portugal thinks it not a good idea. Well well. Sell your soul to the devil. !!!!!!
By J from Lisbon on 19 Jan 2023, 20:59
Banning foreign buyers from purchasing houses in Portugal should be done as soon as possible, as well as implementing other solutions. In some parts of the country it has become obvious that houses being bought by foreigners is contributing immensely to the astonishing prices of real estate. This is leaving the Portuguese people in a miserable situation. Portugal should do what Canadad did!
By Cris from Açores on 19 Jan 2023, 21:36
Portugalhas 750.000 empty houses. Many abandoned. Many empty because taxes on rental are too expensive. The solution is clear: appropriate laws to rule properties that are abandoned and of course… lower taxes.
By Ricardo Tavares Dias from Lisbon on 19 Jan 2023, 22:41
In central Portugal there are thousands of houses falling down and becoming derelict because the Portuguese do not want to buy them, even though they are cheap. Foreigners do a good thing by buying these properties, renovating them and contributing to the local economies where the populations are decreasing, due to old age and emigration. Stopping foreigners buying these properties would be harmful to these rural areas of Portugal.
By Marco from Alentejo on 19 Jan 2023, 23:12
The joys of an unregulated wild capitalist market where regulatory bodies and the audits court do not act. Welcome to Portugal foreigners wether wealthy or economic migrants from failed states. Bye bye native Portuguese.
By Diogo F. from Lisbon on 19 Jan 2023, 23:39
750000 empty properties in portugal going derelict because of stupid napoleanic laws of when somebody dies without leaving a will and loads of relations all jealous of each other in case one benifits more than the other.
By Karl blore from Algarve on 19 Jan 2023, 23:46
Does no 1 burst into laughter at the fact that the person saying foreigners are great for Real Estate is a Real Estate Director and Professor at a Real Estate school/University? And the real pearl afterwards: “rehabilitate public housing”,- every time I read about huge investments on the rehabilitation front, it is for Hotels and such things. The public doesn´t benefit from those, for obvious reasons. I also don´t hear specific proposals for going back to making housing affordable for locals, as it once was, precisely before Tourism/olden visas/Foreign investments ´El Dorado, - from this so called Real Estate expert. No takers? Ok, I laugh alone, with snorts, as usual.
By guida from Lisbon on 20 Jan 2023, 06:12
Does no 1 burst into laughter at the fact that the person saying foreigners are great for Real Estate is a Real Estate Director and Professor at a Real Estate school/University? And the real pearl afterwards: “rehabilitate public housing”,- every time I read about huge investments on the rehabilitation front, it is for Hotels and such things. The public doesn´t benefit from those, for obvious reasons. I also don´t hear specific proposals for going back to making housing affordable for locals, as it once was, precisely before Tourism/Golden visas/Foreign investments ´El Dorado, - from this so called Real Estate expert. No takers? Ok, I laugh alone, with snorts, as usual.
By guida from Lisbon on 20 Jan 2023, 06:13
Nationalism smells like racism to me.
If every ruin in Portugal was bought/rebuilt by so called 'foreigners', remember we are all on this planet together, do you think Portugal would really be in a worse situation?
US and THEM is creating a problem Portugal doesn't need.
By Joe from Alentejo on 20 Jan 2023, 08:25
A lot of Ruins have been rebuilt by foreign buyers, so banning them could also have a negative effect
By Phil from Beiras on 20 Jan 2023, 08:59
Besides stopping the sales to non EU citiziens, surely its needed to ban the building of luxury houses and help to build more houses for Normal PT people. all the rest is just an ilusion
By FF from Other on 20 Jan 2023, 10:05
Here we go again, the usual people who've made no effort in life and don't want to have to lift a finger blame everyone else, in this case foreigners, for their self-inflicted misfortunes. No-one should have a birthright to occupy a particular neighbourhood of a town or city, or the countryside. Property is usually allocated to the highest bidder, that's how it works and no-one seems to have devised an efficient alternative. Those who work hardest and invest the most, taking the greatest risks, usually earn and have the most, and end up with the greatest choices. For me, this is what fairness is all about. Who could disagree with this?
Do they want to ban luxury cars next, on the basis that people who can't even afford a cheap secondhand one might be put out by this? My wealth is not responsible for your poverty any more than my health is responsible for your sickness. Each one of us is responsible for the outcome in our lives, you can't blame your misfortunes on everyone else.
Portugal News, please correct the misinformation in the article. Canada has banned (and only temporarily) nonresidents from purchasing. Not the same as all foreigners which you incorrectly allude to. A foreigner moving to Canada to live can still buy a property to live in.
By Billy Bissett from Porto on 20 Jan 2023, 11:35
I am English, but have chosen to retire to Portugal, and enjoy life. My income from pensions, is paid into the Portuguese economy, I am fully able to support myself and do not "take out" from the Portuguese economy.
I read the difficulties that local people have who need housing, who need greater support.
Measure could be taken, such requiring non-nationals to have a residence permit, in order to purchase a house in Portugal.
This would reduce "holiday homes" which remain vacant most of the time, reduce purchases by non-nationals, and ensure non-nationals contribute into local Portuguese economies.
To have no restrictions on non-nationals in the housing market leads to all sorts of forms of abuse of the local housing market.
By ian doowdle from Alentejo on 20 Jan 2023, 11:52
In Australia, foreigners can buy what they want, so they did, today I can't afford to live there, it's the most expensive country in the world, 1 million AUD buys you nothing, try 1.5 mil plus, in Thailand and Laos foreigners can buy anything they want BUT they can't own it, I bought a brand new car recently $14,000 US I put it in my beighbours name and all the documents are in her name and I have a letter of authorisation to drive the car, try that in Portugal, the devil owns you.
By Mr John from Algarve on 20 Jan 2023, 12:29
I'm a real estate professional and I agree that more solutions are needed. But the purchase of properties by foreigners has a deep impact on market prices. There is no way to deny it. On a market with such a small offer and a huge demand, the high bidders will always prevail and create a set baseline price above market price.
By Alexandre Silva from Lisbon on 20 Jan 2023, 12:44
Ban the.m. Stop this money laundering.
By Mike Evans from Algarve on 20 Jan 2023, 14:32
Maybe limit short term rentals. Limit number of ling term rentals someone can own ; require habitation by owner. ( I think Holland does this )
By C.Shumock from USA on 21 Jan 2023, 13:40
Billy Bisset,
By saying foreigners, it was ment non resident foreigners, not those who come here to live and work! Those people too are having an incredible hard time to find proper housing. That being corrected let's also correct other things. You make it sound that people's wealth or lack of it is directly correlated to how much they work or not. Here we go again! I see many, many people working VERY HARD everyday, but, unfortunately and for different reasons, what they get in return is nowhere near what they should. While others "invest" (or should I say speculate?) and get huge returns. Have you ever thought that those so called "investments" and the huge fortunes one gets from them ( stocks, bonds, etc) exist because there are people, usually the not so lucky ones, working HARD at the basis of the system and who are the ones actually creating REAL VALUE AND WEALTH, BUT GET CLOSE TO NOTHING? The so called "investments" and returns I am guessing you are talking about are nothing but "fake" money that is "inflated" by speculators in order to fill some people's pockets. Have you ever thought that there are many people who are born into poverty and no matter how much they work the chances of getting out of it are slim? For me, this is what unfairness is all about. Who could disagree with this? As for how the property market has worked until now, you are absolutely right, the difference is that now someone is trying to devise an efficient alternative. As for the luxury cars, personally, I wouldn't mind them being banned, not because I would be put out by them, but because driving such vehicles is a crime against Nature and the future of Human Kind. Also my appreciation or desire for them equals zero...
By Cris from Açores on 21 Jan 2023, 15:12
Thanks to foreigners, Portugal has been coming out of the dark ages. It is witty a doubt, the most backward country in western Europe, and for good reason: appalling socialist politics, designed to keep the population poor and ignorant, coupled with an apathetic people who don't really care to do anything about it.
Ban foreign property ownership and foreigners will leave, and this will in turn, set Portugal back decades. We have seen where this country gets without the foreigners' trickle down economics: absolutely nowhere.
So instead of laying blame at foreigners, who inject much needed capital into this country, why don't the Portuguese people blame themselves for continuously electing corrupt thieves, and never learning from their mistakes?
By Hart from Lisbon on 21 Jan 2023, 15:17
Joe,
I don't believe it has anything to do with racism, it has to do with the fact that foreign buyers with a much higher purchase power are completely crushing the house market and making it nearly impossible for the Portuguese AND other migrants, many coming from poorer countries in search of a better life from having a PROPER home. There's a big difference between second houses that are sitting empty most of the year owned by well off non residents and houses that are bought by foreign migrants who come to Portugal to ACTUALLY LIVE AND WORK HERE. Yes, we all live in this world together, but we are not all getting equal footing chances. So, in fact, there is a "US and a THEM" situation, unfortunately. At the moment, the "THEM" are creating a very real problem for the "US", there's no denying. I am Portuguese from the Azores and the jump in the house prices since the islands started getting more flight connections and more foreigners coming ( more or less the last 10 years) is UNDENIABLE! I live in a tiny village and in these years my, also tiny, street has been "invaded" by Germans, most of them DO NOT LIVE HERE. These houses are empty most of the year. Another issue is that they aren't buying either ruins or amazing villas, they are buying average, livable homes that an average Portuguese person would buy. Besides this, it has come to everybody's attention that when these non resident foreigners want to sell, their properties always end up in the hands of another foreigner either because the price has become completely unaffordable for a local or because the houses are being announced directly in foreign contries by foreign real estate companies and the locals have no idea that the house is for sale.
By Cris from Açores on 21 Jan 2023, 16:00
@Billy, I am misrable and blaim others? Well lets say that I work in Switzerland, have quite a good income for Swiss standards, but I have troubles to buy a House in Portugal. Do yourself favour a think before writing here... If you are a millionare thats good for you, but then dont compare yourself to others at all because you are the 0,5% of people in the world that can buy almost everything. I can only imagine portuguese workers that dont have the luck of earning 6 figure incomes such as iin Canda/ US or Switzerland , how will they buy houses?
By FF from Other on 21 Jan 2023, 18:30
@C.Shumock Short term rentals are being regulated in Portugal for years, well before the rest of Europe and other countries in other parts of the world were even considering serious discussions about it. Everybody looking to have a short term rental needs to apply to a permit to do so. The flaw is that, in more pressured urban areas, the authorities have given more permits than they should have done. Measures to correct that issue have also been taken, such as not giving more permits in certain areas, etc. Nonetheless, I guess it will take a while before the effects are felt. However, that alone is, obviously, not solving the problem. I believe a whole range of measures need to be put in place. The short term rental sector needed rules and so does the real estate sector. I have witnessed for the past 10 years how much impact non resident foreigners buying second homes/holiday houses has had on the market prices on my island. Even in the little village I live in prices have skyrocketed in a relatively short amount of time. Before( about 10 years ago), when the vast majority of foreigners didn't even know of the existence of these Portuguese islands, when a house was for sale, one could read VENDE-SE (meaning for sale in Portuguese), then, in these short years, we started reading VENDE-SE/ FOR SALE. That reflects how much has changed. Unfortunately, the negative impact of purchases by foreign non residents for the local community has outweighed the positives on the long run.
By Cris from Açores on 21 Jan 2023, 19:24
@Billy Bissett People here may not have a birthright to be in a particular neibourhood in a city or town. or the countryside, but they DO have a birthright to be in their own country without being pushed out by foreigners who are here as guests ( I'm refering to non resident, not those living and working here!). According to our Constitution, we also have the right to a proper home, when the system of allocating a house to the highest bidder is failing in providing that right, then a new system is required. That is exactly what is being discussed now, the devise of a new system. Yet, you seem to be terribly affected by this new possibility it's almost a paradox. By the way you present your opinion it seems you think of the Portuguese as a lazy, make no effort people. If that is the case, why are you even living in Portugal? You obviously despise our laziness... Are you being held hostage or something? You know many of the people finding it hard to get a house are young people, right? I don't think one needs to be a genius to realize that young people, CLEARLY DUE TO THEIR "TENDER AGE", haven't had the time to make all that many efforts in their short life spans, to self inflict their own misfortunes, for that matter, nor to invest the most and take the highest risks. They still have the right to roof over their heads. Good for you that you managed to get "great" choices in your life (I gather, based on your words), it flatters me too, since you are living in Portugal, great choice isn't it? What? Do you think you deserve it better? Do you think you are entitled to everything your little heart desires just because you have the means? Do you think the Portuguese are undeserving of their own country? That would be rich!
By Cris from Açores on 22 Jan 2023, 03:24
@Hart You seem increadibly upset by the perspective of a regulation in the real estate sector in Portugal. I wonder why that would bother you so much when, obviously, you have no special appreciation for the country or it's people. I ask the same as I asked @ Billy Bissett, are you being held hostage or something? I always find it rich the conception some foreigners, such as you, have that they are the saviours of Portugal. Of course, this line of thought only confirms the fact that these individuals, yourself included, suffer from a dreadfull and apawling condition know as superiority complex, when, in reality, they are the inferior ones, because this type of behaviour is the lowest of the low.
I know ignorance roams free these days, but, in case you don't feel like going through some history books, I can inform you that we have existed for quite some time now, with a lot of ups and downs it's true, but somehow we've always managed and manage we shall. Also, if I may be so bold to point out, I suggest you and others such as you to take a good look at your own countries. I am pretty sure, many would fit the delightfull description you gave of my own country. What? Are you American? Yes, you sound American, judging by your innate hatred of socialism and the adulation of capitalism and it's almighty god MONEY. Yes, America is the beacon of non corruption in the world. The presidents are usually very truthfull over there... and virtually no homeless people in California either...Yes...It's perfection! Maybe you're Brit. Britain, another perfect example of exemplary non thieve politicians who get elected time and time again, especially of late. People never learn!...I could keep on, but I guess I've made my point by now.
By Cris from Açores on 22 Jan 2023, 04:25
I see so many foreigners worrying with the possibility of these measures to come forth, defending that you are the ones shedding light and prosperity into this provincial and backwards country... just simply ridiculous and arrogant...the neighbourhood where i grew up remains the same shit, with the same provincial people and you know what, i don't see any foreigners around here, cause they are taking over the good places and rising the cost of living to a point in which we aren't even able to become independent and leave our parents, much less to have a family. You think you're in the right to complain? for whatever reason? I have read in many articles of this kind foreigners complaining and throwing tantrums about portuguese people and the way things function in here, and my question is, are you aware of how you treat foreigners in your own country, because I have been discriminated several times while living abroad just for no other reason than being a non-caucasian foreigner, who was simply trying to learn and improve his life. Would you prioritize your family or your neighbours? I guess you would put your family in first place, and that's what should be done in portugal, government should firstly and foremost create decent living conditions for their people to thrive, instead of destroying generations in order to provide the good conditions to wealthy people coming from abroad. I have nothing against foreigners, on the contrary, but it seems just reasonable that a country should firstly take care of their own citizens and that's not what is happening down here. Everybody is welcome in portugal, rich ano poor, but being wealthy doesn't entitle you to come here complaining while making the local's life harder.
By Bruno Bravo from Lisbon on 22 Jan 2023, 20:39
Cris, I am absolutely not upset whatsoever. I already own property here, and thanks to me I gave jobs to several Portuguese people who in turn feed their families and pay for their mortgages. It is the Portuguese who should be upset, that not more people such as myself will come here to make their lives better.
It's not like the Portuguese government does anything for their own people. The Portuguese do not help other Portuguese. Perhaps this is what you should be upset about instead of blaming foreigners.
Without us your country went nowhere, and it's your own fault.
And p.s.: the way Portuguese treat Brazilians and Nepalese is disgusting. They work 10 times as hard as the natives. It's foreigners like them and foreigners like myself who are giving your country prosperity, and instead of being grateful we get smeared.
By Hart from Lisbon on 23 Jan 2023, 10:30
@Bruno Bravo
Precisely! Well said, Bruno. :)
By Cris from Açores on 23 Jan 2023, 17:05
Cris
If the 'foreigners' in the article are 'non resident foreigners' , then I stand corrected.
I do not agree with secondary holiday home property for anyone.
People from other countries are coming to Portugal to live though, the benefits are huge and blame is falling on this migration.
People working in Portugal need to be paid more! Buying, renting and maintaining properties costs more than minimum wage.
This problem is in Germany, England , Australia, everywhere.
Poverty is the war, not Inequalty, and Portugal has plenty of people living in plastic dog sheds - this is very sad.
I dream of the gap between rich and poor shrinking, I admit I am foolish.
By Joe from Alentejo on 23 Jan 2023, 17:50
@Hart, you still seem upset to me, but, if you are living and working in the country, I really don't understand why you feel like that. You do understand the issue/problem here is NON RESIDENT FOREIGNERS buying second houses, don't you? I completely agree with you when it comes to the immense contribution of immigrants to the country. I thought I had made that abundantly clear as well as the need these people along with many Portuguese to have better conditions and a roof over their heads. What I will never agree with is NON RESIDENT FOREIGNERS having SECOND HOUSES sitting empty most of the time. I don't agree with that at all, neither in Portugal nor elsewhere. That opinion is based on the belief I have that the planet's resources must be handled in a carefull and responsible manner. I don't even agree that Portuguese people should have a second house, if it's going to have very little use. Although, I'm quite sure Portuguese having a second house is far from being the problem(most don't have a second house). The real problem is getting a house at all! For the last 10 years, I've witnessed many NON RESIDENT foreigners from richer countries and, therefore, with more means to afford things, buying second houses where I live and, honestly, I can't see the so called improvement many claim to have brought the locals. The people living in the region I live in are basically living in the same way as before and roughly under the same conditions. I really don't see how these non resident foreigners ( I stress NON RESIDENT foreigners) buying SECOND HOUSES ( that's what I'm talking about, second houses!) have contributed to improove the conditions of locals lives as much as they claim.
By Cris from Açores on 24 Jan 2023, 15:50
@Hart
P.s. If you know of any case of Portuguese (or anyone else for that matter) treating badly immigrants, you should report it to the authorities, that's a crime. Nobody deserves being treated with contempt either. If that is happening, it really is disgusting, it makes me feel sad and ashamed as a Human Being. Especially because I know very well how it feels like to be humiliated and belittled on a daily basis, just for being who I am and coming where I come from. You see, I too have lived and worked outside of Portugal. I have lived and worked in another European country, not out of necessity, but just because of circumstances of life. Many people in that country also treated immigrants in a horrible way. I know all about it and how it feels, so I could never do to others what has been done to me. Such behaviours puts us all to shame, Humans are suposed to be better than that. Unfortunately, there's an idiot in every corner of the world and my country is no exception. As a Portuguese and, someone who has been on the receiving end of apawling treatment in another country, I can only condemn my fellow countrymen who find it a good idea to adopt atitudes of disrespect and disregard towards those who have chosen to live and work here. I would just like to make it very clear I welcome and respect all those who come here with the only intent of setting roots and, hopefully, providing themselves and their families a better life , I thought I had made that very clear in my previous comments though... Immigrants who come here to live and work have a legitimate right to put a roof over their heads as much as any Portuguese citizen.
By Cris from Açores on 24 Jan 2023, 18:06
@Hart
What I find is not legitimate is NON RESIDENT foreigners getting themselves SECOND houses here that are empty most of the time. Houses must be used to provide a roof over somebody's head, in some cases they can be used to house some kind of business that is providing a given person/family an income, like a country house for Rural/Nature tourism, for example. In some areas of the country people owning a second house that is being used to give them an income, a livelyhood,even, is vital. It could also be a way of retaining or atracting people to live in rural areas on a permanent basis. Of course all of this MUST be regulated by the authorities to avoid unbalances in the market, it's all about common sense.
And FYI, I'm also of the opinion that tourism must be regulated as well, for the sake of both the locals (they shouldn't be pushed out or feel overwhelmed) and the visitors ( they shouldn't have to feel they're in a sardine box), not to mention the sake of Nature (it simply shouldn't be destroyed, period). A house that is empty most of the time is unnecessary waste of space and resources.
By Cris from Açores on 24 Jan 2023, 19:14
@Joe, I agree with everything you said except for one thing. Inequality CREATES poverty and also needs to be fought. The riches and resources in the world are limited and shrinking every day. Also, the planet is not growing and I'm fairly sure it won't grow anytime soon. If resources are limited and they aren't being shared in a more equal way, there will inevitably be poverty. If you have 2 bones and 4 dogs and those bones aren't shared in equal parts among the animals, some of them are bound to starve. From this, I can only conclude that inequality generates poverty. It's a simple case of maths and common sense. Inequality is a serious problem, more so when the world population is growing at an extraordinary rate puting even more pressure on resources. INEQUALTY IS THE MOTHER OF POVERTY.
By Cris from Açores on 25 Jan 2023, 10:39