Portugal harnessing relocation trend

On 11 May, Mapro and Knight Frank organised an event at U&Co. in Vale do Lobo, Almancil, to celebrate a partnership between these two companies, which aims to provide an even better experience for their customers.

This partnership, which began in 2016, will now be reinforced, with Knight Frank now working exclusively with Mapro Real Estate in the Algarve region. To celebrate this new project, The Portugal News spoke with Suzana Bento from Mapro Real Estate and Alexander Koch de Gooreynd from Knight Frank.

With a majority of British buyer clients in the golden triangle, the partnership with the British Knight Frank is a big step forward. "In the Algarve, our clients are mostly British, because that is the nature of the market, but our clients are global. We get clients from all over the world," said Alexander Koch de Gooreynd, partner at Knight Frank, who works in the International Residential Sales team.

“We cover all of these areas with different partnerships and then in Quinta obviously with Suzana. We work with companies that have local expertise. We are not a franchising company. We always have partnerships in the countries that we work with”, Alexander added.

“In Europe, we tend to work with what we call an associate network. This is a brand partnership and it is based in collaboration. We work with them exclusively in this market and we give those applicants directly to Suzana and her team”, he said

With a large presence in Portugal, in the Golden Triangle, Knight Frank works exclusively with Mapro. This means that all Knight Frank clients looking to buy property in the Golden Triangle will be introduced to Mapro Real Estate, which has 30 years of experience in the business.

Mapro Real Estate

Mapro was founded in 1992. According to the director, Suzana Bento, at the time the real estate in Mapro was just initiating - it was a rental management company then. Suzana Bento joined Mapro Real Estate in 1999. In 2003 she became partner and in 2007 took over the company.

Mapro Real Estate is a fully licensed real estate agency in the Algarve region of Portugal. They offer a differentiated service in the buying or selling process. Their portfolio of properties for sale extends throughout the Algarve, with an emphasis on the Golden Triangle, including Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, and neighbouring developments.

Buying a property in Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle is a term for the premium region that includes the area of Almancil and resorts like Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Labo, the two most prestigious resorts in the Algarve. These two resorts are known for their stunning properties, perfectly-manicured lawns, amazing golf courses and amenities. Also, the Golden Triangle is famous for its luxury resorts and Michelin-star restaurants.

Portugal getting popular

“Portugal is popular at the moment for a number of reasons. The first reason why people are relocating to Portugal is the Non-habitual Resident (NHR)”, Alexander said. In fact, Portugal’s non-habitual residence regime offers new residents very attractive tax advantages, which has been attracting expats since its creation in 2012. However, saving money is not the only reason why Portugal is becoming a dream for many expats.

“The NHR is a nice reason to coming over, for sure, but I think the lifestyle is very highly considered in the decision making process”, Suzana said.

Also, “the quality of the infrastructure is much better than it was even 10 years ago. The quality of the schools, roads, transport. We can drive pretty much from everywhere easily. For people who still need to go back to their home city or where their business is located they can travel very easily. In addition, the golden triangle in particular has always been known for safety”, Alex said.

The weather is also a good reason to relocate. "Apart from everything else, it's warm in November, it's warm this time of year. The season of good weather in Portugal is extended. For someone who wants to have a good quality of life, to be able to enjoy the sun all year round, Portugal has it all," he pointed out

Not to mention Portugal’s simple but delicious cuisine, which has always been of global interest. Also, this country of southern Europe is full of natural beauty, ancient history, and vibrant culture. With its lovely beaches and picturesque towns, it’s not surprising that Portugal is becoming an increasingly popular destination for travellers, but not only travellers.

Looking to relocate

According to Alexander, there is a great change in the mindset of buyers. Before the pandemic, most of the buyers were holidaymakers, but recently we have seen an increase in people wishing to relocate to Portugal.

"The biggest trend I've seen is that when I started working in the Portuguese market, the clients were mostly holidaymakers, looking to get out for two, three or four weeks of the year. However, probably since Covid-19 or maybe even before that, because of Portugal's investment in infrastructure, I have seen that most people are now looking at Portugal for potential relocation and spending more time throughout the year", he said.

This new trend is “very positive because people are looking to get more involved in the community and Portuguese culture. Every single client I speak to in Portugal says that they feel very welcomed by the locals and that’s not the case everywhere. This makes Portugal really special”, he said.

Growing market

All in all, there are no doubts that Portugal is a growing market. We can illustrate this growth with some stats from the wealth report, a study that Mapro Real Estate has carried out with Knight Frank that reveals that “in 10 years, the real estate market has increased by 61 percent”.

Looking at this figure, we might wonder: Will the market continue to grow or will it stagnate? Alexander from Knight Frank has the answer. “The cost of living has increased and people spending power will reduce a little bit, but if we look at the European picture, there are some areas there are more affected by this than others”.

“The areas that have not been affected so much are the places where there is a lack of stock and a lack of quality products. Portugal is suffering from a huge lack of stock. There is great competition, so we don’t think prices will be changing soon. On the other hand, there are places in Europe where we see great stock levels and there are places that are beginning to cool or slow down, which is not the case in Portugal”, he concluded.

For further information, please visit their website at https://www.maprorealestate.com/en/ or call +351 289 390 880 or email info@maprorealestate.com

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins