| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
In advance of the upcoming Member-Meet-Member event in Dublin on June 30, the IPBN wondered what the numbers were looking like in terms of Irish tourists and ex-pats to Portugal over the last years. We found out that the staggering number of tourists to Portugal over the last year is up 464.1%, which isn't all that surprising considering the lovely weather, and laid-back lifestyle of the Portuguese, but factored in with pandemic regulations, it is a doubly huge number. Visitors from Ireland were marked at 40K guests in 2022, which is the 10th-largest number of visitors to enter Portugal behind the USA, Brazil, and Spain among others. IPBN member Susana Cardoso, Director of Visit Portugal Ireland told us that "the latest report of “Turismo em Números” showed Ireland with an increase in the number of overnight stays in Portugal of 3.7% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, which is quite remarkable!"
In order to boost Portugal's visibility in Ireland, Susana said, "Our headquarters run an online international campaign which will address the overall recovery of the country. In addition, the Algarve Promotion Bureau also runs a marketing plan, which is reinforced by the activities of the offices abroad." Clearly, their efforts have paid off.
Here is one of the most recent invitation to Portugal campaigns that can be found on Visit Portugal's YouTube channel. Once you watch it, you'll understand completely what all the fuss is about.
Andrew Nixon from the Algarve-based real estate firm and IPBN member company Vendici Properties was quick to help paint a better picture of the real estate market within the golden triangle when it comes to buyers from Ireland as inquiries are up about 15% while actual transactions have increased 12% YOY. He added, "There has undoubtedly been a marked increase in interest since the end of Q3 2021." He continued to explain that now that we have the ability to work from anywhere, there's an increased desire to relocate from urban settings and Portugal's NHR program is attractive to boot. Andrew said, "On top of that many buyers now will have greater visibility and certainty of their own business or financial positions thus enabling a greater willingness to invest overseas."
In order to keep up with increased demand, there has been a proliferation of new estate agents setting up shop in the Algarve however, there is a lack of supply of property, according to Andrew. He says, "The new agencies will find it very hard to build a pipeline of properties to offer to possible buyers. The agencies who have had a presence and have built a pipeline, especially of referred business, are protecting their portfolios of properties, with many properties now being hidden listings." Vendici recently opened a new office in Quinta do Lago in a joint venture with IPBN member Martinhal Quinta...which has proven very successful and has enabled us to grow. Over the last six years, Vendici has acted on over 70 transactions within Martinhal out of a total stock of 170 units giving Vendici a strategic presence in the wider Quinta do Lago market where unit pricing is now generally in the 5 to 10 million range.
As Rebecca Nixon, Managing Director of Vendici Properties told us during her pandemic interview with the IPBN, the company was able to invest in 3D tours of their properties and now, every property we take on has 3D tour regardless of valuation. Andrew told us that now, "this enhanced vendor package has yielded great results since Q2 2020. We sold one property unseen based on a 3D tour, and the buyer laughingly suggested that this was the most expensive bit of online shopping that she had done!"
And the IPBN agrees that the areas of tourism, investment, and lifestyle changes from Ireland to Portugal are on the rise, which is why we have arranged a Member-Meet-Member event in Dublin in order to answer questions on the subject of business expansion and relocation to Portugal for our Ireland-based members on June 30 from 5 - 8pm at Musicmaker Dublin. Rebecca Nixon from Vendici Properties will be a keynote speaker on the real estate market and answer questions related to relocation and property investment, along with many other experts in their respective fields who will lend their voices to better explain what all the fuss is about. Registration can be found here. It is free and available to both members and non-members, so please plan to join us so you'll start off your transformation on the right foot.
| The IPBN is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland under the ESP Grant programme |
