Right now, in 2022, the market across the country is booming

Looking at the property market in Portugal in 2022 things are booming, as soon as a property is advertised for sale there are buyers everywhere looking to snap it up. But the property market in this sunny, relaxed and beautiful country has not always had things its own way.

The house price boom that swept most of Europe and the developed world from the mid-1990s to 2006 completely bypassed Portugal, except in certain pockets of the Algarve, and the market did not grow exponentially unlike many other European ones. Around 2006 the property market throughout the country was starting to gain momentum, but then came 2008, and we all know what happened there. Thanks to the shenanigans of the US banks, in 2008 crisis hit Portugal and it would take many years for the market to recover to pre-2008 levels. The property market suffered major hits due to the worldwide crash and prices fell by an average of 4.7% (-7.1% in real terms.) Portuguese banks stopped financing real estate purchases, construction almost ground to a halt and the number of transactions dropped drastically and it would take a further 7 years to return to pre-crisis levels. By about 2011-2012 the average home value lost around 11% and it wasn’t until the end of 2014 that confidence returned and the market started to recover.

In 2015 the market began to grow steadily, house prices rose by 4.9% in 2015, 5.7% in 2016, 7% in 2017, 9.7% in 2018, 11.7% in 2019 and 6% in 2020. During the first three quarters of 2021, the total number of housing transactions rose by 25.4% year on year to 153,076 units while the value of transactions increased 33.3% to €24.86 billion (US$28.16 billion) according to INE. All regions saw double-digit transaction increases over the same period.

Right now, in 2022, the market across the country is booming. The demand for property in Portugal in recent times has increased and right now demand is far outstripping supply. The most recent data confirms that the real estate sector in Portugal is booming. From Porto to Portimão everyone wants a slice of the action.