33% of houses sold in Lisbon were purchased by foreigners in 2023

International buyers purchased 1,580 properties worth €911.8 million in 2023. North Americans are the main foreign buyers, the British are those who increased their investment the most.

In 2023, 4,750 residential properties were transacted in the Urban Rehabilitation Area (ARU) of Lisbon for an amount that amounted to 2,217.7 million euros. Foreigners were responsible for 33% of purchases in terms of number of properties and 41% in terms of investment volume, corresponding to 1,580 transactions worth 911.8 million, respectively. International activity reduced the number of transactions by 7% compared to 2022, but maintained the volume of invested capital stable (+0.2%). In 2022, foreigners had purchased 1,700 properties worth 909.8 million euros.

The data is revealed by Confidencial Imobiliário (CI), considering housing purchases made by private buyers within the perimeter of the Lisbon Urban Rehabilitation Area, which covers 21 of the municipality’s 24 parishes (excluding Santa Clara, Lumiar and Parque das Nações ).

According to CI, “The aggregate behavior of foreign investment is not, however, transversal to the most dynamic nationalities, which include North Americans (16% of properties acquired by foreigners), French (13%), British (9%) , Chinese (8%), Brazilians (6%) and Germans (5%). On the one hand, the North Americans and the British, who increased their investment both in number of properties and in amount invested, especially the United Kingdom, whose buyers invested an amount 49% above 2022. On the other hand, the remaining nationalities mentioned, which lost momentum compared to 2022, with fewer operations and less volume of capital invested, led by Chinese buyers, whose amount invested in purchasing housing reduced by 46% compared to the previous year”.

Regarding Portuguese buyers, in 2023 they purchased 3,170 properties worth 1,305.9 million euros, equivalent to 67% and 59% of the ARU residential market in terms of number of transactions and invested capital, respectively. Domestic activity reflects an annual drop of 14% in the number of transactions and 23% in the amount invested. In 2022, this segment of demand acquired 4,100 properties worth 1,517.5 million euros – according to CI.