Demand for portuguese property hits record high
- Portugal second most popular country in the world
- US share of enquiries falls to 22-month low
- Buyers still interested in Brazilian property
- Portuguese enquiries up 32pc from July
- Interest rises in all but six regions of Portugal
Portugal is now the second most popular country in the world, behind only the USA.
The end of the American dream?
US real estate accounted for 1 in 10 enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com in August 2014, its 14th month in a row at the top of the Top of the Props chart. Nonetheless, despite America's continued dominance of activity, its share of activity fell to a 22-month low.
US property generated 10.38 per cent of leads in August, significantly lower than the 27.26 per cent generated in the same month last year and the lowest level since December 2011 (8.96 per cent).
Brazil not backing down
July saw investors turn away from Brazil in the way of the World Cup, with the country's enquiries dropping to their lowest since March 2014. In August, though, enquiries bounced back from 3.4 per cent to 4.61 per cent, as investors demonstrated the market's long-term appeal. This rebound in interest pushed Brazil back up into the top five destinations on the site.
Europe appeal stays strong
Brazil's rise pushed down Italy into sixth place with 4.01 per cent of enquiries, following two months of growth for the country.
Nonetheless, Europe continued to make up a large number of TheMoveChannel.com's chart. The continent accounted for 9 out of the top 15 countries on the portal, including Germany, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, as favourable exchange rates with the pound and dollar and low house prices encouraged investment from both Brits and Americans.
Indeed, French property held onto fourth place in the chart, its international attractiveness boosted by low mortgage rates. Spain's property market has long been among the top destinations on TheMoveChannel.com thanks to its affordable prices and sunny lifestyle. Spanish real estate's share of enquiries fell to 6.51 per cent in August 2014 from 7.65 per cent in July, though, as the country slid into third place for the second time in three months. Nonetheless, its share of enquiries remains higher than the low of 3.81 per cent recorded in April 2014.
Portugal's popularity peaks
Portugal stole the international property stage for the second month in a row in August. After climbing into third place in July 2014 for the first time since November 2013, Portuguese property's popular climbed even higher last month. In real terms, enquiries surged 32 per cent from July to hit a nine-month high, enough to see Portugal overtake Spain and rise into second place.
On a quarterly scale, Portugal received an average of 592 enquiries in the three months to August 2014, up 25 per cent from the previous three months (March to May 2014).
This is not the first time Portugal has proven more popular than Spain: in real terms, August marks the third time in 12 months that Portuguese real estate has received more enquiries than Spanish.
Spain's number of enquiries are still an average of 17.8pc higher than Portugal across the three months to August - the same as the preceding three months (March to May 2014). On a monthly level, though, while Spain's enquiries stayed steady in August compared to July, Portugal's soared, with the country receiving 4 per cent more than its neighbour.
The Algarve and Lisbon continue to drive activity, but Portugal's improvement was broad, as buyer interest spread across the country. Costa Verde led the increase with enquiries soaring 500 per cent month-on-month, followed by Braga (400 per cent), Porto (380 per cent), Costa de Prata (340 per cent), Aveiro (200 per cent), Guardia (100 per cent), Madeira (50 per cent), the Algarve (35 per cent) and Leiria (16 per cent). Only six regions in the country saw enquiries decline between July and August 2014.
TheMoveChannel.com Director Dan Johnson comments: "The US property market has begun to moderate this year following months of booming prices and demand. This natural step in its recovery means that affordability has dropped. As a result, investment from overseas buyers has narrowed to select areas, such as Florida and North Dakota, where it continues to be strong.
"As buyer interests become more diverse, with a large number returning to Europe, Portugal has emerged as the new summer favourite among buyers. It is telling that Portugal's rising popularity is not at the expense of Spain: demand for Spanish property remained steady, in real terms, compared to the previous month. Rather, Portugal has overtaken Spain thanks to its own increasing appeal."
Caroline May, Operations Director at Algarve-based agency Ideal Homes Portugal, says that they have seen interest rise significantly in 2014.
"Our property sales are double those of the same period last year," she tells TheMoveChannel.com.
Indeed, Ideal Homes Portugal have had to open a second office in Vilamoura to cope with the demand, which remains driven by the holiday home hub of the Algarve.
"In terms of location," Caroline adds, "the usual favourites are still popular – with plenty of demand in Albufeira, Lagos and surrounding areas.”
“Buyers need to look to the Eastern Algarve region if they really want a bargain, where up-and-coming areas are cheaper,” she adds. “A two-bedroom seafront in a new popular development in Cabanas goes for €116,000, for example.”
“Cabanas is a great bargain destination as it has everything the more popular areas have: proximity to a seafront, shops and restaurants – but costs a fraction of the price.”