The slight down turn in
figures is more due to the effect of recent legislation by the Portuguese
Government which penalises property buyers if they use an off shore registered
company as a vehicle to purchase Portuguese Real Estate. In particular foreign
investors are reflecting on this situation and evaluating their options.
The use of an off shore
company to purchase a property in the Algarve, or in the rest of Portugal, is
not something which is commonly used by the ‘normal’ foreign buyer who is
looking to purchase a holiday home or a home for his retirement.
As a consequence, the amount of property in Portugal
sold to and bought by overseas clients remains high.
This is particularly true of the residential/private housing market. Of course
there is a slow down in the numbers of transactions, but it is not seen as
significant so far.
