Portuguese golden visa gives property market a push

Lisbon, Portugal, where home sales climbed 40 per cent last year Photo: Chris Yunker

Over 300 visas were issued to investors in 2013, within one year of the scheme's launch, helping to generate €225 million in the country's real estate market. That trend continued at the start of 2014, with 49 residency permits in the first three weeks of January, according to the country's Foreign Minister.

“2014 represents another very promising year,” said Rui Machete at a signing of a new tourism visa protocol designed to make it easier for tourists from Russia, China, India, the UAE and Colombia to enter Portugal. Together, the visas in 2014 brought in approximately €27 million, reports the Portuguese American Journal.

Portugal is one of many countries in Europe that has chosen to introduce a residency scheme to stimulate interest from overseas buyers as they recover from recession. Portugal's Golden Visas are ofference in exchange for €500,000 worth of investment, higher than Cyprus' similar scheme, which has a threshold of just €300,000.

Chinese buyers are widely reported to be driving demand thanks to dissatisfaction with the country's political situation, notes Global Property Guide, while affordable prices amid a weakened currency are making high-end property in Portugal and other countries better value for money.

Indeed, luxury home prices have been given a lift by the rising demand, according to Confidencial Imobiliario (CI) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, rising 54 per cent to €4,226 per square metre in 2013 compared to 2012,

"Our report saw a very quick rise in the price of luxury homes and that's good news for the market, creating positive expectations both for those already in the market and for potential buyers," comments Ricardo Guimaraes, director at the Confidencial Inmobiliario, quoted at Global Property Guide.