Portugal will end its golden visa programme, which offers residency rights to non-EU nationals in return for investments including in real estate and has been criticised for boosting house prices and rents. Successful applicants can apply to obtain a passport after five years.
The strength of the dollar along with the current housing crisis in some US cities where $750,000 will buy small homes with major issues is driving Americans to consider their real-estate odds abroad.
'I had been looking for a place for a long time,' Laurent told The Wall Street Journal, explaining that she often visits the French capital for work and vacations there with her husband and three young children.
LISBON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Portugal announced on Thursday a hefty package of measures to tackle a housing crisis, including the end of its controversial "Golden Visa" scheme and a ban on new licenses for Airbnbs and other short-term holiday rentals.
Yes they do
Rents and house prices have skyrocketed in Portugal, which is among the poorest countries in Western Europe. Last year, more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros per month while in Lisbon alone, rents jumped 37% in 2022.
Low salaries, a red-hot property market, policies encouraging wealthy foreigners to invest and a tourism-dependent economy have for years made it hard for locals to rent or buy, housing groups have said. Portugal's 8.3% inflation rate has exacerbated the problem.
Housing groups said the measures would mean little if the government continued to promote other policies to attract wealthy foreigners to Portugal, such as the "Digital Nomads Visa" introduced in October, which gives foreigners with high monthly income from remote work to live and work from Portugal without paying local taxes.
LONDON: The kitchen and living area of the one-bedroom Knightsbridge apartment in London. The home is located directly opposite of iconic department store Harrods and within walking distance of the amenities of Sloane Street and Brompton Road
Kelly Cutchin, of global payments services provider Moneycorp Americas, told MoneyWise that such is the scale of the real estate acquisition that many wealthy US citizens are copying moves by their friends and business associates.
'Let's face it, if the rate moves against you 10 cents between now and June of next year — when you go to actually facilitate that transaction — it might actually place you in a situation where you can no longer afford to make that investment, or you're not as comfortable as you were previously,' Cutchin said.
Situations between the US and Europe could not be more different, it would appear, as Laurent said she shaved off an extra $100,000 from the time when she first viewed the apartment in early 2022 to when she closed the deal.
'We all have a bit of FOMO [fear of missing out], right? "Everyone in my country club is doing it — so I want to have that same status as Suzy, and so therefore, I too need to buy a property in Paris, and we can vacation together with our families,"' Cutchin said.
The strength of the dollar along with the current housing crisis in some US cities where $750,000 will buy small homes with major issues is driving Americans to consider their real-estate odds abroad.
'I had been looking for a place for a long time,' Laurent told The Wall Street Journal, explaining that she often visits the French capital for work and vacations there with her husband and three young children.
LISBON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Portugal announced on Thursday a hefty package of measures to tackle a housing crisis, including the end of its controversial "Golden Visa" scheme and a ban on new licenses for Airbnbs and other short-term holiday rentals.
Yes they do
Rents and house prices have skyrocketed in Portugal, which is among the poorest countries in Western Europe. Last year, more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros per month while in Lisbon alone, rents jumped 37% in 2022.
Low salaries, a red-hot property market, policies encouraging wealthy foreigners to invest and a tourism-dependent economy have for years made it hard for locals to rent or buy, housing groups have said. Portugal's 8.3% inflation rate has exacerbated the problem.
Housing groups said the measures would mean little if the government continued to promote other policies to attract wealthy foreigners to Portugal, such as the "Digital Nomads Visa" introduced in October, which gives foreigners with high monthly income from remote work to live and work from Portugal without paying local taxes.
LONDON: The kitchen and living area of the one-bedroom Knightsbridge apartment in London. The home is located directly opposite of iconic department store Harrods and within walking distance of the amenities of Sloane Street and Brompton Road
Kelly Cutchin, of global payments services provider Moneycorp Americas, told MoneyWise that such is the scale of the real estate acquisition that many wealthy US citizens are copying moves by their friends and business associates.
'Let's face it, if the rate moves against you 10 cents between now and June of next year — when you go to actually facilitate that transaction — it might actually place you in a situation where you can no longer afford to make that investment, or you're not as comfortable as you were previously,' Cutchin said.
Situations between the US and Europe could not be more different, it would appear, as Laurent said she shaved off an extra $100,000 from the time when she first viewed the apartment in early 2022 to when she closed the deal.
'We all have a bit of FOMO [fear of missing out], right? "Everyone in my country club is doing it — so I want to have that same status as Suzy, and so therefore, I too need to buy a property in Paris, and we can vacation together with our families,"' Cutchin said.