“The American dream now involves buying a house in Portugal”, according to Athena Advisers whose latest report shows that – North American clients represent 71% of its sales in Portugal. “Portugal's attractiveness for North Americans is on the rise and the growing number of families and US nationals who choose our country to live in is increasing the demand for a home in the country, namely in the Lisbon region”, says the company in a statement.

Appealing prices in Portugal

According to the consultant, from 2021 to this year, sales to US citizens grew by more than 40%, with 43% of homes being sold for more than €1 million. “The growing appreciation of the dollar against the euro is intensifying the demand for homes by these buyers, as the price of Portuguese real estate becomes even more appealing”, he indicates.

Athena Advisers also adds that at the end of 2021, home buyers from the US accounted for 30% of the transactions carried out by the consultant, a scenario that gained strength in 2022: the year has not yet ended and the “percentage of sales made to clients this nationality rose to 71%, with the particularity that 100% of the transactions carried out are aimed at relocation”, reads the note.

Americans with big budgets

Regarding the value of transactions, in 2021, 36% of the units sold to US buyers were closed for a price above one million euros, while this year 43% of the properties transacted exceeded that value.

“[These data] may reflect the increase in house prices, but above all they reveal a predisposition of these investors to acquire properties of increasingly higher value since they have budgets that easily reach five million euros”, says David Moura -George, General Manager of Athena Advisers Portugal.

The official adds that “North American customers are essentially looking for large family properties, T4 and T5 typology, modern houses, with amplitude, high ceilings, with spacious outdoor areas and equipped with home automation”. It is “a niche market with an extremely limited supply in Lisbon”, he notes.

Based on data from SEF, the consultant recalls that, among foreign buyers, the North Americans were the ones who most invested in real estate in Portugal in the first quarter of the year (25.1 million euros), tripling the value compared to the previous period.


More for your dollar

Adding to the attractions that Portugal offers – safety, climate, lifestyle, etc. – Athena Advisers adds another factor: the current relationship between the euro and the dollar, which is becoming an excellent opportunity for these buyers, making the price of Portuguese real estate even more accessible and attractive.

“The first reaction is to face this phenomenon, which happens for the first time in 20 years, as negative, due to the devaluation of the euro against the dollar. However, in the current context of growing interest on the part of North Americans for the purchase of a house in Portugal, we must also understand it as a stimulus to the investment of these buyers in our country, which for this reason have been intensifying the demand for national products, since that this relationship between currencies gives them greater purchasing power in our country”, explains David Moura-George.

An example given by the consultant is the Palacete Benformoso, in the Intendente area, in Lisbon, which is being sold for 2.7 million euros. Had it been purchased in early February, the buyer would have paid $3,092,580, but if purchased today (October 12) it would have paid $2,621,803, down 15%.