News

News and Informations from family business Markus Bösch Lda. about Buying and Selling property in Portugal, Timber, Straw bale houses etc., Rent-to-buy your property in Portugal

Hostility to foreigners

(Jan. 2015, Markus Bösch Lda.)

We are often asked, how the Portuguese people react to foreigners in this crisis. The anti-German developments in Greece have understandably created a degree of uncertainty. To this matter we can clearly state that it is completely different in Portugal. Firstly, because the Portuguese are a traditionally emigrant people they have a natural sympathy for foreigners. There is hardly a family that has no relatives in foreign countries, and almost everyone has in some way worked for a while in other European countries. Second, because the Portuguese people have a pronounced pacifist mentality and that is what makes the coexistence so pleasant here. We have never ever met anybody who made a German or other EU citizen responsible for the current crisis.

Property prices

(Jan. 2015, Markus Bösch Lda.)

Since the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis clear downward trends in prices of real estate have been seen.

Most affected are apartments in the second home sector, e.g. apartment complexes along the coast. Next the building plots in urbanization developments followed by the general house prices. Whether or not the bottom of the market in these sectors already has been reached, is difficult to say.
The exception is older village houses which have kept their value, together with good situated manor houses. A category which continues to have increasing interest (and with that also increasing prices), are properties with lots of land, forest and with independent water supplies, that have the possibility of self sufficiency.

It is interesting to observe, how running in parallel to the bad news in the press (such as planned forced expropriation of the depositors, devaluation of savings, total surveillance by capital controls, efforts for the abolition of cash, interception of telephone calls and monitoring of the Internet and email, etc.), the desire of autonomous security increases. More and more people see themselves facing a merciless EU octopus, the powerlessness against a controlled, corrupt system, ruled by apparatchiks and banksters. George Orwell’s 1984 is here now! The desire for a self-determined, meaningful and more nature oriented life grows. The offer of such properties is very limited, even more because the Portuguese people rediscover the value of such lands.

Mediation license

We have also acquired a mediation license, which allows us to act as “estate agents” for property in central Portugal. However, if we advertise a property on our website we carefully vet them to ensure any paperwork issues can be resolved.