More than 10,000 foreigners bought property in Portugal in the first half of the year with Chinese, French, Brazilian and Angolan investors leading the rush in the Lisbon and Cascais areas.
However, it is the Algarve that is leading the impressive influx of foreign money with British, French, Belgians and Germans buying up property, especially in the Loulé, Albufeira and Lagos council areas.
From January to the end of June 2014, 21% of the total of property transactions in Portugal were registered to non-nationals, according to data from the Association of Professionals and Real Estate Companies of Portugal, with the second quarter seeing 6,540 foreign buyers deciding on a property in Portugal.
The Golden Visa scheme has helped to shift properties in the over €500,000 bracket and exponential tax rises in France have seen many middle and upper income citizens leave la belle France in a move to keep their incomes out of reach of the French taxman.
Property prices remain significantly below their pre-crash levels in most categories and the attraction of retirement income taxation relief for inbound foreigners has led many canny investors to the Algarve where good weather and a higher disposable income have combined to make the move an easy one for reasons of both lifestyle and income.
