Despite a 20% decrease in property sales in Portugal, the real estate transaction tax revenue surged by five million euros in 2013, breaking a five-year trend of declining property transaction taxes. Luís Lima, president of the Association of Real Estate Professionals and Companies of Portugal, explained that the current "Golden Residence" policy and the tax exemption policy from the tax authority are significant reasons for the increase in property taxes. The enthusiasm of foreign immigrants for purchasing homes has invigorated the high-end luxury real estate market in Portugal.
Last year, property transactions generated a total of 390.2 million euros in property tax revenue for the treasury. Although this is less than half of the treasury's property tax revenue in 2007 (which peaked at 933 million euros), it marks the first increase in property tax revenue since the economic crisis.
Currently, there is no exact data indicating the number of real estate transactions in 2013, but the Association of Real Estate Professionals and Companies stated that the number of transactions last year did not exceed 96,900, indicating a 20% decrease in the volume of residential property transactions in Portugal. However, observing the market from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of last year (and even into January of this year), one can see a warming in the volume of residential property transactions.
According to Lima's analysis, the volume of property sales in Portugal in January increased by 30% compared to the same period last year, while the number of potential real estate clients surged by 40%.
