In the first two months of the year, RE/MAX carried out a total of 242 transactions in the two Autonomous Regions, 151 carried out in the autonomous region of the Azores and 91 in Madeira, an increase of around 10% compared to the same period in 2023 – reports which is the largest mediation network operating in Portugal. The volume of prices negotiated was over 23 million euros (M€), 13.4 million euros in the Azores and 9.6 million euros in Madeira, which corresponds to an increase of around 18%, especially in Madeira (reached 28%). Among foreign clients, it is North Americans who invest most in the two autonomous regions, after the Portuguese, who, similar to what happens on the continent, are the main investors in the Islands.
In the RE/MAX data it is possible to verify that whatever the autonomous region, national customers are involved in the majority of transactions. However, foreigners have greater weight in Madeira, which has a relatively more internationalized market than the Azores. In the first two months of 2024, the network transacted properties in both regions with the participation of 15 different foreign nationalities.
Among foreign investors, in the Azores, North Americans were the ones who traded most in real estate with the network from January 1st to February 29th, with transactions representing 7.3%, followed by the French, Poles and Canadians. (1.3% each). In turn, in Madeira, the North Americans lead (6.6%), followed by Venezuelans, Russians and New Zealanders (2.2% each).
Half of the transactions on the Islands were for housing
As for the type of properties, in the period under analysis, in the two regions as a whole, houses represented half of the transactions (50%) of the RE/MAX network and apartments accounted for 25%. Land is of particular importance in the market, representing 15% of the total.
According to data from the network, during this period, the housing segment represents around 75% of the market in the two archipelagos. This year has seen a drop in apartment sales, which was around 5%, but was offset by increases in sales of houses and shops. Regarding typologies, T2s were the ones that gathered the most preference, especially in Madeira, where they accounted for more than half of apartment transactions (in the Azores they represented around 42%). As for houses, Madeira continued to favor three-bedrooms, a type that declined in the Azores, losing customer preference for two-bedrooms.
