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Lisbon, Porto and south of Portugal has seen a boom on foreign investment on properties. There are locations that if you email the agency, the first thing they

Lisbon, Porto and south of Portugal has seen a boom on foreign investment on properties. There are locations that if you email the agency, the first thing they mention is all the tax advantages of buying here for non foreigners. There is a whole upscale market for non-residents to park their money in real estate here.

expertentipp 11y ago
When in Portugal I was really surprised to see most of the billboards in the Lisbon airport to be in... Chinese, advertising properties and apartments for sale. After some looking up I discovered that in Portugal one can acquire residency only by buying a property expensive enough.
- blablablame 11y ago
  Yep, they are called Golden Visas. If you buy a property more expensive than 500.000 Euros you may apply for it. There were a few nags and some corruption charges a while ago so not sure what the current status is. There is also some tax break that if you had no income in Portugal in the last 10 years, you are eligible for a very reduced personal tax rate if you move to Portugal for X years so that also brings up rental and property prices.
return0 11y ago
Are those vacation residences, however? That's a bit different from parking money in expensive houses and never visiting.
- alistairSH 11y ago
  Is there a difference (assuming the vacation residence isn't rented out daily/weekly)? Either way, prime real-estate is being tied up and made inaccessible to residents. Related thought... I wonder how much AirBnB plays into this? I'm vacationing in Florence later this year and was surprised at the large number of available flats in the historic center. Not just rooms, or random apartments, but in some cases significant portions of buildings.
  - return0 11y ago
    Vacation residents are made for that, they dont deprive the locals from housing. In contrast, rich people speculatively buying expensive real estate are just that, speculators.

expertentipp 11y ago

When in Portugal I was really surprised to see most of the billboards in the Lisbon airport to be in... Chinese, advertising properties and apartments for sale. After some looking up I discovered that in Portugal one can acquire residency only by buying a property expensive enough.

blablablame 11y ago
Yep, they are called Golden Visas. If you buy a property more expensive than 500.000 Euros you may apply for it. There were a few nags and some corruption charges a while ago so not sure what the current status is. There is also some tax break that if you had no income in Portugal in the last 10 years, you are eligible for a very reduced personal tax rate if you move to Portugal for X years so that also brings up rental and property prices.

return0 11y ago

Are those vacation residences, however? That's a bit different from parking money in expensive houses and never visiting.

alistairSH 11y ago
Is there a difference (assuming the vacation residence isn't rented out daily/weekly)? Either way, prime real-estate is being tied up and made inaccessible to residents. Related thought... I wonder how much AirBnB plays into this? I'm vacationing in Florence later this year and was surprised at the large number of available flats in the historic center. Not just rooms, or random apartments, but in some cases significant portions of buildings.
- return0 11y ago
  Vacation residents are made for that, they dont deprive the locals from housing. In contrast, rich people speculatively buying expensive real estate are just that, speculators.