The State of the Property Market in Portugal

And, whereas some countries around the world have experienced crashes and slumps in property demand recently, Portugal, has faired well even in these turbulent and uncertain economic times.

"It is important to note that Portugal hasn’t suffered from a property bubble,” says Jorge Moniz from Banco Espirito Santo, who reports mortgage applications from overseas clients is on the increase not decrease. “On the contrary, over the past 10 years up to now, our property prices have been quite stable.”

In fact during 2010, a recent report announced, a record number of properties exchanging hands with over 150,000 sales proving the Portuguese property market is not only stable, but buoyant.

Michael Nascimento, Managing Director of Morgan Forbes, said: "Investors looking for solid medium to long term property investment returns should not ignore the existing investor opportunities that the Portuguese property market offers, during this period of economic difficulty.”

This is backed by central Portugal estate agent, Claudia Silva, who says, “These new lower priced properties are attracting new investors. We have seen a dramatic increase in enquiries from people looking to achieve a better income from their savings than most banks are offering right now.”

With the bailout from the European Union anounced and the terms set, the future of Portugal is looking a lot brighter for would-be property purchasers.

The introduction of new flight routes to Portugal and a robust rental market in tourist regions are good indicators the property market and prices in general are unlikely to decline further and could start to increase as early as next year.

Claudia Silva summed up by saying, "For anyone looking to buy a home here in Portugal, either for holidays or as a permanent residence, nothing much has changed. It is still a beautiful country with good infrastructure and easy access from many other European countries.”