“Now is the time to buy” is the advice offered by real estate agents following news that house prices are on the up in Portugal and can only “keep increasing”.
A study by consulting company Prime Yield found that property prices increased 8.6% and 5.8% in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2014.
Citing the study, Jornal de Notícias says the price increases have been bolstered by “a rising interest from Chinese investors as part of the Golden Visa scheme, as well as from French and British investors”.
JN also says banks are “lending more money” and Euribor interest rates are “near 0%”.
Plus, José Velez from Prime Yield explained that fewer houses are being sold for “bargain prices” by banks these days, allowing other sellers to gradually raise their prices.
This has all led to one “simple” phenomenon, said Luís Lima, the president of Portugal’s real estate professionals’ association APEMIP.
“On the one hand, estate agents are not as willing to negotiate prices. On the other, buyers have more money to spend.”
In fact, the general director of real estate agency ERA Portugal Miguel Poisson says that those looking to buy a new property should do so soon.
“Those who buy this year will surely get a better deal than they will next year,” he said.
