The Association of Professionals and Real Estate Companies of Portugal (APEMIP) has estimated that about 2,500 properties were handed back to banks to settle owners’ debts last year, a decrease of 54.5% compared to 2012.
Lisbon and Oporto remain the most affected areas in the country.
The outlook for the UK residential property market in 2014 is looking rosy with experts across the spectrum predicting further growth in the new year. But the key issue is that the growth that has been spectacular in London is set to spread out across the country and there are already signs of this happening.
Indeed, the UK housing market is almost unrecognisable from 12 months ago. Not only have average prices climbed to record highs but there has been growth in sales and prices nationwide.
France has MP's for French expats in their parliament, and we believe that the British parliament should also have MP's acting on behalf of British expats interests.
Cyprus has been tarnished with a bad name with regards to people wishing to purchase property here. The title deeds fiasco has put off many potential property buyers. This has left the Cyprus property market in a downward spiral for a few years now.
At a time when Britain is worrying about an influx of workers from poor European Union countries, Portugal is enthusiastically encouraging rich entrepreneurs from outside the EU.
Romanian and Bulgarians, especially those likely to seek welfare benefits, are causing panic in Britain because immigration restrictions are to be lifted on January 1.
We will have some very exciting news for you in January, a fabulous addition to our service so watch this space... plus look out for our January Sales feature, but for now we would like to reflect on an amazing 2013.
We have had our best year to date selling a record number of properties. We have taken on an additional 14 new members of staff and the team goes from strength to strength. We have won two top awards for our website including the Best Real Estate Website in Europe but most importantly of all we have received some heartwarming testimonials and comments from our clients a lot of whom have now become good friends with the staff they worked with.
Another year has past and we are now at the end of the fifth year of the financial crisis. Over the past 12 months financial stability in the Euro zone has improved, as was to be expected. Economic activity has picked up in most European economies and we witnessed an improvement in business and consumer confidence. There are more signals that the European debt crisis is fading, just watch the steady decline in 10 year government bond yields in countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The price of gold (a safe haven in times of uncertainty) has fallen in price by almost 30 percent over the same period.
We are starting to hear more positive news for economic growth, not only in the UK, but also in other areas of the world. Therefore, this could be a good time to consider investing in an overseas property, but where would be a good place to consider?
Spain has just seen its best summer for tourist numbers since records began nearly 20 years ago, with foreign sun-seekers fearing unrest in Egypt and Turkey and travelling instead to the Spanish coast.
A hefty 1.15m Brits took an autumn/winter holiday in Spain in 2013. Where tourists go, home-buyers follow, with the Costa Brava, Balearics and Andalucia – in that order – the three most visited regions, and British, French and German holidaymakers the biggest fans.
