Investment in housing by international buyers in Lisbon's Urban Rehabilitation Area (ARU) fell by around -19% in the first half of this year, in half-year terms. The number of properties bought fell by -18%.
This is shown by the latest figures from Confidencial Imobiliário, as part of its analysis of the dynamics of property investment in Lisbon's ARU, based on the pre-emption rights reported by Lisbon City Council. It should be noted that Lisbon's ARU covers all of the city's parishes with the exception of Santa Clara, Lumiar and Parque das Nações.
By June, 770 residential properties had been bought in this area of the city, totalling 442.9 million euros, invested by investors from 58 countries.
But the drop in housing purchases was also seen among Portuguese buyers, who in the first half of the year bought 1,630 residential properties, for a total of 637.1 million euros - six-month falls of -22% and -13% respectively.
In the whole of Lisbon's ARU, 3,150 residential properties were transacted, worth 1,578 million euros, 76% of which were bought by private individuals, generating 71% of the amount invested. In this group, foreigners account for 24% of purchases in number and 28% in investment volume. The Portuguese account for 52% of the number of properties and 43% of the amount invested.
On the other hand, the remaining shares, 24% in terms of number of properties and 29% in terms of volume of investment, relate to purchases made by companies. In this case, the nationalities are not known.
French and Americans stand out with 20% of the transactions
Among the 58 foreign nationalities that were active in buying homes in the first half of this year, the French and Americans stand out, each generating a 10% share of the number of properties purchased. The British accounted for 6%, the Chinese 5% and the Brazilians and Italians 3% each.
Parishes outside the historic centre gain importance
Confidencial Imobiliário also notes that there is more interest in investing outside the historic centre of the capital. Proof of this is the fact that the parishes where the number of international transactions has grown the most concern areas further away from the historic centre, such as Benfica and São Domingos de Benfica, Campolide, as well as Alcântara, Areeiro and Alvalade. Although they continue to account for between 1% and 2% of international purchases, most of these neighbourhoods have seen half-yearly growth of more than 50%.
Until June, Estrela and Arroios (shares of 13%, around 100 units) were the neighbourhoods where foreigners bought the most, overtaking Santa Maria Maior, Misericórdia and Santo António, with around 80 transactions each (shares of 10%).