Portugal Resale Property Prices to Stall

The prices of Portugal resale properties are expected to stall as new-build stock comes to the market in 2019.

According to property expert Maria Empis, who heads the JLL consultancy research department, resale property sales for second-hand homes will feel the impact of the new stock planned, though she indicated that prices will continue to grow, but just less rapidly.

During 2018 real estate transactions in Portugal exceeded some 30 billion euros thanks to supply limitations, however JLL anticipate that the record figures registered last year will not be repeated in 2019.

Other external uncertainties, such as Brexit, are also expected to affect the Portuguese real estate sector. Patrícia Barão, who heads the residential sector, said that the effects of Brexit have been felt more by some real estate developers, who are choosing to wait to avoid the exchange effect.

It has also been confirmed that property prices in Lisbon and the Algarve are now way above the national average.

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE) the median price for a family home in Portugal was 984 euros per square metre during the third quarter of 2018, representing an increase of 1.5 per cent in comparison to the previous quarter.

While real estate averages in Portugal remain below the thousand-euro mark, property in the Algarve, Lisbon and Madeira areas are far higher.

INE statistics confirmed that during the third quarter of 2018 average property prices were at €1,500/m2 in the Algarve, at €1,318/m2 in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and at €1,203/m2 in Madeira.

While the Algarve, Lisbon and Madeira were found to have the highest prices for real estate there were large differences in each of these areas.

The most expensive areas of the country to buy in were found to be in the municipalities of Cascais (€2,167/m2), Oeiras (€1,878/m2), Loulé (€1,870/m2), Lagos (€1,755/m2), Albufeira (€1,683/ m2), Tavira (€1,630/m2) and Porto (€1,525/ m2).

For those overseas property investors looking for a Portuguese bargain, the INE found that the lowest average property prices for new and resale homes sold were recorded in Alto Alentejo at €595/m2 and €423/m2 respectively.