# House Pricing



## purdey (Oct 24, 2014)

Hello I am new to this forum however not new to Portugal as I have been visiting for 25 years and have business here. I recently decided to look for property in the Eastern Algarve as prices have apparently fallen and sales are slow. I have spent the last 3 weeks looking at properties in the area. I am looking at 3/4 bedroom villa approx 350k Euro. I have seen dozens of properties and am totally bemused about the pricing. While there is negotiation on price there seems to be a huge discrepancy in figures depending on the seller (expat) (portugese) of the property. Expat prices seem alot higher initially and then after 4/5 days of no contact with agent, agent contacts me and reduces price in most cases up to 50k! Portugese sellers tend to explain immediately there is 50k off asking price which saves alot of time. So now I am looking at properties in the 420k Euro range and these huge reductions seem to be the norm. My Portugese friends have said prices are vastly over inflated due to the lack of interest in the market. I am somewhat bemused at the vast number of properties for sale but more bemused by the way agents price the properties. Wouldn't it be a fairer system if agents would finally admit property prices have fallen drastically in Portugal to attract buyers to stimulate the market. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on house pricing in this part of Portugal.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Hi Purdey and a very warm :welcome: to EF Portuguese section. You might find this article interesting reading. Http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/where-to-buy-property-Portugal-853


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi Purdey, I suspect you are not alone in thinking that now is the time. In the last 6 months I have heard of 4 properties in my neighborhood (Silver coast area) that have sold and are planning builds. This must have encouraged a number of land owners as I have also seen a few clear there land, a common practice to give buyers an idea of the lot size (in my area you need a minimum of 2000 sq mt to build). I have also seen a few sales and new signs go up on existing homes.
A friend in the Algarve with a property for listed for sale for over 5 years (10,000 sq mt ocean view, but 30 year old home) has finally started receiving and accepted an offer. They are Americans and did reduce their price, but they did not even get offers in the first few years.
Personally I believe we are seeing the early signs of change. Investors are returning. Businesses still struggle, but I have had more than one furniture retailer in the Caldas area tell me that things are getting busier, though confidence is not yet at a level where this is affecting their hiring. 
All this to say, I don't think the market is as stagnate as it was.


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## purdey (Oct 24, 2014)

Thank you for the welcome and the article. Most useful.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Seems to me there's an increasing number of Americans coming into Portugal lately and perhaps that's improving the property market a bit but I'd have to agree that property sales do seem to be improving. 

A good though short article posted by Siobhan but like most, it chooses to ignore the central region completely. (IMO) the central zone is the best kept secret in Portugal and I'm always baffled by the fact the tourist board and everyone else totally ignores it.


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## anapedrosa (Mar 21, 2011)

This is from August of last year, but fun if you haven't seen it yet.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

anapedrosa said:


> This is from August of last year, but fun if you haven't seen it yet.
> 
> Portugal no seu melhor - YouTube


Great video but still no mention of the central zone!


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

Further to our conversation this morning (good to meet you at last) long may it stay that way. One reason we came here was to live in an unspoilt region with not many non Portuguese.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Maggy

Great to finally meet you also. 

And I agree, it'd be a great pity if the area went the way of the Algarve.


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## Domicilium (Jul 20, 2013)

350k for a 3/4 bedroom villa could be a lot or quite cheap, it depends on the location (near the sea or exclusive villages) and of course the quality of the villa itself and other amenities like swimming pool, garage and so on.


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