Buyers from the United Kingdom and Brazil are those most looking for financing for their home in Portugal however, it is North Americans who have greater purchasing power and choose to buy homes at higher prices.

Looking at the country of origin of non-residents seeking housing credit in Portugal, it is clear that the greatest interest comes from those who live in Europe. The largest percentage of requests that reached idealista/créditohabitação in the summer of 2023 came from the United Kingdom (18% of the total), followed by Brazil (15%), Switzerland (12%) and France (9%).

“Buyers from the United States stand out with an average household income of 8,534 euros”, indicates the report. Of all the countries of origin analysed, those who come from the USA have the greatest purchasing power and intend to purchase more expensive homes (313,288 euros, on average). In addition, they also submit higher-value bank financing requests (242,532 euros, on average).

Non-resident citizens from Switzerland have the second highest purchasing power (an average of 7,161 euros), looking to purchase homes for 204,992 euros with an average financing of 153,055 euros. Next are families residing in the Netherlands, with an income of 6,077 euros. Despite having less purchasing power than households coming from Switzerland, these families living in the Netherlands seek the second largest financing (191,495 euros, on average) to buy houses for an average value of 268,924 euros.

On the other hand, it is citizens residing in France, Brazil and Belgium borrow less capital to buy a house, especially because they look for houses to buy at lower prices since they have the lowest income compared to other non-residents (in order of 4,000 euros).

Those who live in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the USA request higher financing percentages (between 77% and 79% of the value of the house). And the lowest financing rate is requested by those living in France (68% of the total). As for the average age of families, it is those who live in France who use housing credit to buy a house in Portugal later (47 years) and in Ireland earlier (39 years).