Over the last few years, Portugal has seen a complete renaissance, with its capital Lisbon being transformed in a vibrant and international city. Almost every street appears to have a building covered in scaffolding as homeowners and businesses renovate historic properties, encouraged by the economy and real estate market growth. A dynamic entrepreneurial and startup scene is also starting to flourish.
Portugal is the South-European economy that better recovered from the global economic crisis of 2008, with a yearly economic growth staidly forecasted over 2% for the next years (European Commission - Summer 2018 Economic Forecast – Portugal).
Lisbon is a charming and prosperous city, full of history and glamour, but why does the city appeals to investors from all around the worlds so much? Here there are the 5 main reason to buy a property in the Portuguese capital right now.
2017 have seen a record of 1.900 millions of euros invested in the Portuguese real estate market and forecasted to reach 3.000 million in 2018 (JLL-Annual Report-2018). The growth has been boosted by foreigner investors, with Lisbon, Porto and Algarve being the most attractive areas.
While prices have increased markedly since 2010, Lisbon still offers a good value to investors, with prices down 2 or 3 times compared to London or Paris. For the analysts, the housing market hasn’t peaked yet, with Standard & Poor’s forecasting an average yearly growth of 6% until 2020.
As the study from the rating agency Scope confirms, differently from other countries, the Portuguese’s real estate market is not at risk of generating a bubble, but the increase in prices is structural, led from supply constraints and economic growth.
Portugal ranks consistently in the top 5 of the safest countries in the world for The Global Peace Index. Lisbon itself is a very safe city, with people feeling comfortable walking around the city at night. Beside some pickpockets in the most touristic areas, is possible to visit Lisbon with no threads to people security.
Thanks to the international “Portela” Airport, Lisbon is well connected with the rest of Europe and the world. The city has privileged connections with the Portugues speaking country, with many daily connections to Brazil. Soon Lisbon will have two airports, with the construction of the Montijo airport scheduled to begin in early 2019.
Lisbon will be the starting point of the fast train connection “Lisbon-Kiev”, the train that will connect most European countries.
In the last two years, Portugal has won the European Best Travel Destination Awards, with Lisbon beings nominated the “Preferred City Destination”. After many decades where Portugal was unknown to the mass tourism, now it is difficult to meet someone who hasn’t visited the country yet.
In 2017 the number of tourists that have visited the country reached 12.7 million, with a growth on the previous year of 12%. The growth is forecasted to stay around 10% on a yearly base for the next 10 years.
The tourism is a great incentive for the renovation of the main cities city centers and the development of coastal areas.
Lisbon enjoys a unique location. Sitting between the ocean and the river Tagus, surrounded by hills the area around the city offers attractions for any taste.
With 270 days of sun along the year, Lisbon is a perfect location for golfing. Around Lisbon, the main areas are Estoril and Sintra, the Tagus Valley and South of Lisbon. When not on the golf course, sailing is very popular around Lisbon, with various conditions in the Atlantic Ocean or inside the Tagus River.
After all, Lisbon is a very attractive city that is living a complete renaissance, offering unique investments opportunities to take right now.
