Foreigners. “It is necessary to find the balance between international attractiveness and internal social cohesion”

There is no refuting: Portugal is an attractive country for foreigners. Either by the welcoming environment, the mild climate, the safety, the most relaxed lifestyle, the gastronomy, the traditions or the “low” prices. There are several characteristics and positive points that lead them to choose this corner of the Iberian Peninsula as a home. And if you had to go to the capital or the Algarve before, for example, to get a little idea of ​​the number of foreigners who choose Portugal to live -we had been mostly renovated from renovated who have fallen in love with this area of ​​the world -now, a little all over the country, we see people of various nationalities and generations to buy home, open business and build family.

Currently, foreigners have less incentives to buy houses in Portugal, given the end of the Gold Visas for Real Estate Investment and the completion of the Old Non -Non -Non -Non -Non -Rono Regime (RNH). Despite these tax changes, houses prices continue to increase and many believe that foreigners continue to be guilty of this increase. In addition, there are more and more the famous people who are interested in the country, transforming some areas such as behaving in luxury places, shooting prices and eventually forcing those who grew up there for the lack of ability to follow all increases.

According to the most recent data of the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the whole of the naturalness countries of buyers with the highest number of acquisitions is led by Brazil, with 7 694 transaged housing in 2024, which constituted an increase of 37.8% compared to 2019 (5 581). This country represented 20.0% of acquisitions by families without Portuguese naturally.

In the period between 2019 and 2024, the observed US growth is also highlighted, more than tripling the number of transactions (537 in 2019 and 1 707 in 2024), translating an increase of 2.7 percentage points (PP) in terms of relative weight. Contrary to France (4 016 transactions in 2024), with the most significant reduction in relative weight (-6.0 pp).

The average values ​​of transactions involving buyers with naturalities different from the Portuguese were generally higher than those of Portuguese acquisitions (186 501 euros in 2024), except for Cape Verde (173 714 euros) and São Tomé and Principe (162 105 euros). Among the naturalities with the highest number of transactions, the average values ​​of the United Kingdom and the US (431 172 euros and 429 823 euros, respectively) are highlighted with values ​​more than 130% above the average value of Portuguese-born acquirers, in the case of the US with an increase of 25.7 pp compared to 2019. (366 919 euros) Situated 96.7% above the average amount paid by the natural acquirers of Portugal.

End of Visas Gold

According to Neuza Silva, expert in credit intermediation and real estate consultancy, the Portuguese real estate market has been registering, in the last decade, a significant increase in interest from investors and foreign buyers. “This phenomenon, far from recent, had its turn point around 2012, when Portugal implemented foreign capital funding instruments, such as the Gold Visas Program and the Non -Non -Non -Non -Non -Non -Residents Regime (RNH),” he explains.

It is recalled that the Gold Visa-officially known as Residence Authorization for Investment Activity (ARI)-is an authorization for entry and residence in Portugal attributed to foreign, unnatural citizens of the European Union or residents outside the Schengen space, in exchange for a large financial investment.

Who acquired it was guaranteed the possibility of entering Portugal with dismissal of residence visa; reside and work in Portugal, provided that it remains in national territory a minimum period of not less than 7 days in the first year and not less than 14 days in subsequent years; circulate through the Schengen space, without a need for a visa; benefit from family regrouping; request the granting of permanent residence authorization; Possibility to acquire Portuguese nationality by naturalization. In Portugal, the large majority of Gold Visas was attributed through real estate investment.

The controversy around these visas began in 2022 – with the suspension of the ARI (Residency Authorization for Investment Activity) platform and the government to evaluate the end of the program. With several people pointing to the finger to the Gold visa as “guilty” for the increase in housing prices and the housing crisis in Portugal, the socialist government decided to end the real estate investment program from October 7, the day the most housing came into force. Along with all this, the RNH regime was also replaced by a more restricted new in the 2024 starter.

“Portugal presents a set of characteristics that make it highly competitive in the European scenario, political stability and public safety, being one of the safest countries in the world, mild climate, environmental quality and excellent cost-effective relationship, modern infrastructures, good health services and a growing cultural offer. Segments such as reformed, digital nomads, and real estate investors “looking for safe markets for asset diversification”.

The digital nomads

Regarding the profile of buyers, according to Neuza Silva, we have been able to identify standards, but the profile of the foreign buyer is diversified: “We have renovated from Nordic countries; France and the United Kingdom that favor quiet coastal zones, such as Algarve or Alentejo Litoral; Digital and remote professionals who value properties in dynamic urban areas near airports and public transportation of international access (Lisbon, Porto) or locations with good quality of life and connectivity (eryceira, wood, Azores) ”, detail.

But for the expert, foreign investment is just one of the vectors of increased pressure on prices. There is, in fact, a conjugation of structural factors that explain the sharp rise in the value of real estate: “Chronic deficit of new construction aggravated by administrative barriers and lengthy licensing (to get an idea, the approval for construction can take about year/year in the area of ​​Lisbon); increasingly high values ​​and lack of professionals in the sector; Real estate speculation and accelerated resale practices; fiscal incentives that fostered a demand that had no proportional response in supply, ”he says.

To this “an imbalance is added between the average income of the Portuguese and the values ​​practiced in the market, creating a serious asymmetry in access to housing”.

The growing number of digital node, with purchasing power higher than national average, although they bring economic and cultural dynamism, « they are also pressuring prices in areas where housing offer was already limited. »

In order to support access to housing by the young population, the Portuguese Government implemented in 2024 a set of measures, including exemption from the payment of IMT and seal tax on the acquisition of its first and permanent housing by young people up to 35 years (read p. 6 and 7). “The measure was greeted as a relevant step in a high price context and great difficulty in access to housing, but quickly began to emerge distortions in its framing and practical application,” argues Neuza Silva. “The measure does not require Portuguese nationality, not a minimum of years of residence in the country, it only implies that tax residents in Portugal at the time of acquisition,” he explains, ensuring that this “small detail” has opened the door so that many newly arrived digital nomades and citizens, with considerably higher than the Portuguese average, “could access this fiscal benefit, in formal equality with the young Portuguese who They live and work in Portugal ever ”.

« As we have repeated a few times in our country, unfortunately, it is another social benefit to be captured by those who need it least. The big problem here is not legal-the law is clear and is being applied as approved. The problem is structural and ethical: a fiscal policy that aims to correct social inequalities is being blinded to the economic and social context of the beneficiaries, » he laments.

In a market where the average price of a housing is, in many cases, incompatible with the income of young Portuguese, “the facilitated access of citizens with higher purchasing power (namely digital nomads with foreign currency salaries or high technological income) ends up pressing prices and eliminating the competitiveness of the national buyer”, guarantees Neza Silva.

« As a specialist in real estate consulting, I consider that the criteria of eligibility should be reviewed. Factors such as minimum time of fiscal residence, global performance and historical contributions could be introduced, » he suggests.

Despite recognizing that the presence of digital nomads in Portugal brings undeniable economic and cultural advantages, the expert argues, therefore, that housing policy cannot ignore basic inequalities. « When the tax benefits designed to support young Portuguese are used by foreigners with greater purchasing power, the state is, without intention, to aggravate the problem it wanted to solve, » he says.

« Foreign investment has undoubtedly brought benefits to the sector that we all recognize, such as urban revitalization, increased quality housing park and economic dynamization. However, without effective mechanisms for sustainable urban regulation and planning, this phenomenon can contribute to the exclusion of those who need access to housing: the Portuguese own. Neuza Silva.