Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Portugal reports growth in home purchases by foreigners: who are top 10 investors?

Portugal officially collects and publishes statistics on real estate transactions involving foreign buyers, but the publicly available data is usually aggregated by group (Portuguese buyers, EU residents, non-residents/non-EU), without a detailed breakdown by nationality. Detailed rankings of buyer countries are usually provided by specialized analytical companies and media based on real estate network databases.

According to data from the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE), in 2023, foreigners accounted for about 7.6% of all home purchases in the country, but provided approximately 13% of the total value of transactions. At the same time, buyers from non-EU countries pay an average of around €405,000 per property, while foreigners from the EU pay around €277,000, and the average market price is around €200,000.

In some regions, the proportion of foreigners is much higher. In the Algarve, they account for about 27% of all transactions and up to 38% of the total sales value, with 4 out of 5 properties there being purchased by non-residents. In cities, primarily Lisbon and Porto, the share of foreign transactions is smaller, at around 4-6%, but it is in the capital that the most expensive purchases are concentrated.

Private analysts provide a detailed picture by nationality. In Lisbon, according to Confidencial Imobiliário, 4,750 apartments and houses worth €2.22 billion were sold in the Urban Rehabilitation Area in 2023, of which 1,580 properties (about a third) were bought by foreigners. Buyers from North America led the way (approximately 16% of all “foreign” transactions), followed by the French (13%) and the British (9%). Chinese, Brazilian, and German investors also had a significant presence.

In the Algarve, according to estimates by Engel & Völkers, British buyers predominate, but there is also an active presence of citizens from Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands; interest from Americans is growing noticeably.

Based on this data and market reviews, we can identify a conditional “top 10” of the most active foreign buyers of Portuguese real estate (by number of transactions and total investment volume):

  1. United Kingdom – dominates in the Algarve, with a significant presence on the coast and in major cities.
  2. France – one of the key investors in Lisbon and other major cities, a traditional driver of demand.
  3. USA / North America – already No. 1 in terms of the number of foreign transactions in Lisbon; a rapidly growing segment at the national level.
  4. Germany – strong presence on the south coast and in second home projects.
  5. Brazil – large diaspora and growing flow of investors, especially in Lisbon and coastal regions.
  6. Sweden – one of the notable buyers in the Algarve and on the coast, with a focus on high-quality “second homes.”
  7. Switzerland – actively present in the premium segment of the Algarve and Lisbon.
  8. The Netherlands – consistently among the leading foreign buyers in the Algarve and a number of cities.
  9. China has been an important investor in recent years, especially thanks to residence permit and “golden visa” programs, although activity declined in 2023.
  10. Spain and other neighboring EU countries have a noticeable but more scattered presence in border regions and large cities.

Investors under the previous “golden visa” scheme (primarily from China, Brazil, Turkey, the US, and South Africa) are listed separately, but following the reform of the program, their share is gradually being redistributed in favor of “regular” transactions.

Thus, Portugal publishes official data on the share and prices of transactions with foreigners, but a detailed map by nationality is based mainly on research by specialized agencies and market analysts. Taken together, they show that demand is primarily driven by investors from Western Europe, North America, and Brazil, while the role of buyers from Eastern Europe and the CIS remains niche.

Source: http://relocation.com.ua/portugal-records-growth-in-home-purchases-by-foreigners-who-make-up-the-top-10-investors/

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Housing prices in Ukraine remain stable overall – NBU report

Declared housing prices in Ukraine remain largely unchanged compared to last year, according to the NBU’s financial stability report for December 2025.

According to the regulator, in Kyiv and Lviv, as well as in the southern, central, and eastern regions, housing on the primary and secondary markets has been offered at roughly the same prices as before over the past six months. At the same time, price dynamics were higher in some western regions, while some regions saw declines. The NBU attributes the lack of sustained price growth factors to a slow increase in the cost of construction amid subdued demand.

The report also notes that the ratio of housing prices to household income remains historically low and is estimated at 8.6x.

In the rental market, according to the NBU, prices are rising in most regions, while in Kyiv, after accelerating in the previous quarter, rents have adjusted downward.

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Shelling and lack of funding holding back housing supply – NBU

Housing supply in Ukraine remains limited due to a lack of funding sources for developers and the effects of shelling, according to the NBU’s financial stability report for December 2025.

According to the regulator, the area of housing commissioned in the first half of 2025 corresponds to the figure for the same period last year, but the share of apartments in this structure has decreased. According to the NBU, the supply is mainly replenished by the completion of long-started residential complexes, while new projects are launched extremely rarely and mainly in the western regions.

Separately, the NBU emphasizes the impact of air strikes: in the first nine months of 2025, more than twice as many homes were damaged by shelling than in the same period last year.

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Activity in Ukraine’s housing market is held back by gap between supply and demand, says NBU

Activity in the housing market in Ukraine has remained virtually unchanged for about a year and a half, with one of the key restraining factors being the mismatch between the type of housing most often put up for sale and what buyers are looking for, according to the National Bank of Ukraine’s (NBU) financial stability report for December 2025.

The regulator notes that the number of housing purchase and sale transactions in the first nine months of 2025 was only 7% higher than in the same period last year. According to the NBU’s assessment, advertisements more often feature large and new apartments, which are more expensive, while buyers often focus on more affordable options.

The NBU also indicates that the market is most active in Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions, which account for 39% of transactions in the first three quarters of 2025. Two-thirds of transactions involve apartments; the average area of an apartment purchased is 48 square meters, and that of a house is 70 square meters. The median age of purchased housing in Ukraine is estimated at 45 years, and in Kyiv at 20 years.

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In Ukraine, volume of new housing construction grew by almost 50% in first nine months of 2025

The total area of residential buildings for which construction permits (new construction) were issued in January-September 2025 increased by 48.4% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 4 million 396.7 thousand square meters, according to the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).

According to the statistics agency, in January-September 2025, the total area of new construction of apartment buildings increased by 51.1% compared to last year, to 4.23 million square meters. The number of apartments in apartment buildings declared at the start of construction increased by 54.1% to 47,600.

Most of the new housing in the first nine months was registered in the Kyiv region: the total area of new housing construction amounted to 2 million 305.1 thousand square meters (21.2 thousand apartments), which is 142% more than in the first half of last year.

Significant volumes of new housing in the specified period were also registered in the Lviv region – 816,500 square meters (10,900 apartments), which is 63.6% more than in January-September 2024, as well as in Ivano-Frankivsk – 344,200 square meters (+8.2%, 5,500 apartments), Zakarpattia region – 368.7 thousand square meters (+26.1%, 4.7 thousand apartments), Poltava region – 160.3 thousand square meters (2.1 thousand apartments), Vinnytsia region – 167,100 square meters (-29.2%, 3,900 apartments) and Volyn region – 176,300 square meters (+25.3%, 4,000 apartments).

In Kyiv, in January-September 2025, the total area of new construction of housing amounted to 449,600 square meters (5,200 apartments), which is 36% more than last year.

The State Statistics Service reminds that the figures do not include territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation and parts of territories where hostilities are ongoing (or have been ongoing).

As reported, the total area of new housing construction in Ukraine in 2024 decreased by 7.2% compared to 2023, to 3.9 million square meters, while in 2023 it was 4.2 million square meters, in 2022 – 6.67 million square meters, and 12.7 million square meters in 2021.

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Real estate prices in Portugal rising despite declining interest from foreigners

The average cost of housing in Portugal reached historic highs in 2025 amid sustained demand and limited supply, and analysts expect prices to continue to rise in 2026 despite tight affordability conditions.

According to data from the Portuguese Statistical Office (INE), in October 2025, the median bank valuation of residential real estate exceeded the threshold of €2,000 per square meter for the first time, reaching approximately €2,025 per square meter, which is 17.7% more than a year earlier. This marks more than a year of double-digit annual growth in housing prices.

The apartment segment is rising in price faster than villas: according to Global Property Guide estimates, the median bank valuation of apartments reached €2,345 per square meter (+22.1% year-on-year), while villas reached €1,472 per square meter (+11.8%). The highest prices are recorded in the Greater Lisbon agglomeration and in the Algarve tourist region.

According to the Idealista portal, by November 2025, the median asking price for residential real estate across the country reached around €3,000 per square meter (+7.8% year-on-year). At the same time:

Lisbon remains the most expensive market, with an average price of €5,914 per square meter (+4% over the year).

In Porto, the average price is around €3,908 per square meter (+5.9% over the year).

Inland regions (the center, part of Alentejo) are significantly cheaper – in many municipalities, prices range from €1,400 to €1,700 per square meter, while the most affordable districts in the country, according to local research, offer housing from €800 to €900 per square meter.

At the end of 2024, the INE housing price index (HPI) rose by 9.1%, with existing housing rising by 9.7% and new housing by 7.5%. In real terms (adjusted for inflation), prices have been rising continuously since 2013 and have increased by more than 80% during this period, which is significantly higher than the dynamics in neighboring Spain.

The market remains extremely active. In the first half of 2025, 84,247 residential properties were sold in Portugal, 20% more than in the same period in 2024. Sales of secondary housing amounted to 67,578 properties (+20.6% year-on-year), and new housing – 16,669 (+17.7%).

95% of transactions were made by buyers with tax residency in Portugal (about 80,000 properties, +21.9% year-on-year). Foreigners (both from the EU and third countries) purchased 4,205 properties, which is 7.2% less than a year earlier. Experts attribute the decline in the share of foreigners to reforms: the abolition of “golden visas” for real estate investments and the termination of the Non-Habitual Resident preferential tax regime from 2024, which reduced fiscal incentives for foreign investors.

At the same time, 2024 saw a record volume of transactions: in the third quarter of 2024 alone, €9.05 billion worth of housing was sold (+28% year-on-year), with 93.5% of buyers being Portuguese residents and the share of foreigners at around 6.5%.

Supply remains a bottleneck in the market. In the first half of 2025, 13,244 new homes were completed in the country, only 4.9% more than a year earlier and significantly below the rate of increase in the number of transactions. At the same time, the number of building permits issued is growing rapidly: in the first six months of 2025, 21,057 new housing units were licensed (+28.8% year-on-year), reflecting the growing confidence of developers and the expected acceleration in the introduction of new housing in the coming years.

According to BPI Research estimates, the growth in housing prices in Portugal is likely to continue in 2026. This is indicated by a stable labor market, record employment, and real wage growth, which support household purchasing power, as well as the stabilization of interest rates in the eurozone at “neutral” levels after a period of sharp tightening. Analysts expect that, given the current set of factors, prices in 2026 will grow at a rate above the European average, although probably slower than the double-digit figures of 2024-2025 (we are talking about high single-digit percentage growth, provided there are no new shocks in the eurozone). This will sustain investor interest but keep pressure on housing affordability for the local population, especially in large cities and on the coast.

Source: http://relocation.com.ua/portuguese-housing-market-sets-new-price-records-growth-to-continue-in-2026/

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