More foreign citizens are applying for credit to buy a house in Portugal . And it is Brazilians who are leading the way in housing loan applications, representing 38% of foreigners who submitted these applications in 2024, according to data from the Bank of Portugal (BdP), cites idealista.

“In 2024, 90,000 permanent home loan contracts were signed , 32% more than in 2023, involving 138,000 people”, concluded the BdP in the recently published statistical bulletin . It also indicated that 10.1% of the people who took out home loans were of foreign nationality, which represents an increase compared to the total of 9.84% recorded in the previous year.

Brazilians stood out as the main foreign nationality to obtain housing loans in Portugal , representing 38% of the total number of foreigners (up 2 percentage points compared to 2023). Most of these Brazilian families are up to 45 years old, have higher education and are employed by others. In this analysis by the number of foreigners who applied for housing loans, Angolans appear in second place, followed by the British.

Considering the amounts contracted by foreigners to buy a house with bank financing, Brazilians represent 30% of the total (having increased compared to the previous year when they accounted for 28%), followed by the British (7%), North Americans (6%), French (5%) and Italians (5%).

The BdP also analysed housing loans granted for other purposes, such as for the acquisition, construction or carrying out of works on secondary housing or for the rental and acquisition of land for housing construction.

And it concluded that “30% of debtors of other housing loans taken out in 2024 were foreigners , mainly from Brazil, the USA and Angola (15%, 14% and 13%, respectively). Considering only foreign debtors who resided outside Portugal, this figure drops to 23%”.

“Foreign debtors were responsible for 45% of the total amount of other housing credit contracted”, less than in 2023 (50%), also states the Portuguese regulator led by Mário Centeno.