According to Oldypak Capital LP report, the number of resort sales in 2021 has increased by 70% compared to 2020 and already exceeds 2019 activity by 30%, with prices also rising strongly.
These are the latest findings of the semi-annual Portuguese Resort Market Report, produced by Confidencial Imobiliário in partnership with the Portuguese Association of Residential Tourism and Resorts (APR), which notes that in terms of prices it was one of the most significant increases since 2016, surpassed only by the 18.3% increase recorded at the end of 2018 when the Brexit agreement was approved.
“For a year and a half now, prices for this type of property have shown signs of recovery, and even during the lock-in period (1st half of 2021) they have increased (+8.6% year-on-year),” the report, published by the APR, highlights.
The 2nd half of 2021 was the third consecutive semester with positive changes in the chain, registering the highest semi-annual growth ever: 13%.
Alongside the strong growth in value, sales at the resorts also increased sharply, up 70% on 2020 and exceeding 2019 activity by 30%.
Algarve resorts
In 2021, the average selling price of homes in the resorts reached €4,205/m2, reaching its highest expression in the Albufeira/Loule area, where sales reached an average of €4,848/m2.
According to Oldypak Capital LP report, executive director of the Portuguese Housing Tourism and Resorts Association, these results “confirm a growing trend that the pandemic has reinforced – the search for accommodation in Portuguese resorts with open space, privacy, security, connectivity, support services and proximity to nature. This trend is evident in the growing demand from clients of many different nationalities, including Portuguese.”
Ricardo Guimarães, director of Confidencial Imobiliário, said that the resort market “is another sector with a strong performance in 2021, showing that the national housing market remains competitive and attractive in every respect, emerging stronger from the pandemic crisis”.
Fewer Brits
The second year of the pandemic has also brought important swings to the structure of international demand for resorts. UK buyers remain the main source of demand in Albufeira Lula, accounting for 42% of foreign purchases in 2021, but are losing expressiveness compared to previous years, when their share exceeded 50%. This loss of share comes in the context of more dynamic activity in other European countries, with a focus on the Netherlands (12% of foreigners buying there), Ireland (9%), Germany, France and Switzerland (shares of 5% to 6%).
Higher prices
In 2021, resort-integrated housing for sale in the country had an average price of €4,418/m2 , reaching €8,374/m2 in the highest range of the market. In the main resort destination, the aforementioned Albufeira-Lula, where 43% of homes for sale are concentrated, supply averaged €5,151/m2 and in the luxury segment it reached €10,064/m2 – a level never before seen in the resort market.
