Portugal´s Reasonable Housing Costs
Source: http://www.cheapestdestinationsblog.com
With the economic crisis in Europe still hitting Portugal hard, it’s a buyer’s market for real estate and a renter’s market for apartments—at least outside the university towns. Many Portuguese people will tell you that €750/$1,000 is a pretty common amount for locals to live on. Sure, several family members will generally pool resources in one home, but still, if you move here as a couple that can bring in $3,000 a month, you’re going to be considered very well-off by local standards.
Julie Dawn Fox had been teaching English as a second language for 12 years, mostly for the British Council. After living in Spain, Tanzania, and Venezuela, she was getting tired of the transient lifestyle and wanted to settle down somewhere in Europe. “I missed the boat on buying a house in the UK; had an opportunity when I was younger but passed on it to go traveling instead,” she says. “While I was gone, prices skyrocketed and there was no way I could afford it. I looked at Portugal and the prices were much more affordable. I knew I could buy a house there on my own. I got a job teaching, but then I met my husband (also English) there. We only pay a couple hundred euros a month for his place. The drawback of that is we need two cars. We’re about 35 kilometers from Coimbra city where we work. We spend €200-250 a month on petrol. It’s usually more than our mortgage”
Julie and her husband regularly put €1,200 a month (around $1,620) from their teachers’ salaries into a joint account and that covers all their expenses. “If you aren’t extravagant, you can live well on a decent wage. Occasionally there’s enough left over for eating out and a bit of travel. We could probably could do it on €1,000 a month if we had to.” They are living in a modest three-bedroom house, but the low mortgage cost definitely helps. “This house would probably be 700 – 800 pounds a month in the UK,” she estimates. “We wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
Gail Aguiar has plenty of places to compare with her new home in northern Portugal. She was born in the Philippines but moved as a toddler with her family to Canada. “I grew up in several regions of Canada, where she spent time in Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto, and Banff. In between there was time in Australia, the UK, and the semi-rural northeastern U.S. This is it, though,” she says. “I have no plans to move anywhere else unless my Portuguese husband suddenly decides he wants to try expat life for himself, in which case I would join him.”
Gail lives about 10 miles from the center of Porto and while her husband already owned a place, she says rental for a two-bedroom apartment like she’s in starts at around 400 euros per month ($540). In the center of Porto prices would be similar, but the apartment might be older and smaller.
Prices are similar in Lisbon, where a one-bedroom flat in a prime area can be found for under $600 a month and if you’re willing to expand your zone of possibilities, you could get more space or a lower price.
Buying a place is very reasonable by European standards throughout the country. “In Coimbra, for a reasonable apartment you would pay 150,000 to 200,000 euros for a nice two- or three-bedroom place. In rural areas, it’s easy to find a place that size for 100,000 euros or less,” says Julie. “There are lots of repossessions and bank sales going on right now. Banks sometimes offer 100 percent mortgages on these so you don’t need a big down payment, but restrictions are rather strict. When I was looking into it, they wanted an additional guarantor for the mortgage. They also wanted us to buy life insurance that would cover the amount in case something happened to us.”
Alicia and her husband paid cash for their home from a sale in England and had enough left over for a fixer-upper project on top. They live near the Silver Coast in Central Portugal, half an hour from the ocean and an hour from Lisbon and the airport. “We have a pool and an olive grove, and gorgeous views. We also bought an incredibly cheap village house in Castelo Branco which is a stunning area,” she says. “We get to experience real village life and the neighbors are very friendly. We are renovating the house and its slow going as we don’t live there now but we plan to rent it out for holidays.
Property prices are incredibly low,” she adds. “For the price of a tiny terrace or flat in, for example, The Midlands area of the UK you can get a lovely three-bedroom house with a garden near the coast or a two-bedroom flat a stop or two away from the center of Lisbon. We viewed a three-bedroom flat with a view of the sea for €35,000 just a ten-minute drive away from the city of Lisbon and only a 5 minute walk to the metro.
They don’t have rent or a mortgage since they own the house outright, but Alicia says, “You can get something decent from about €350 a month in Central Portugal and on the Silver Coast.” For their five-bedroom house near Lisbon they pay €890 per annum in property taxes. For the two-bedroom house in the countryside it’s only €100.
Foreigners can own real estate outright in Portugal, but closing costs can be high: figure on 7-8 percent.
Author Alicia Sunday grew up in the Leicestershire countryside in England, moved to London for fifteen years, then to Cambridgeshire for twelve years. “We were attracted to the warmer weather in Portugal and being able to lose the mortgage and buy something with the equity from the house yet have more space and land,” she says. “We also liked the fact we could still afford to be less than an hour away from a fabulous capital city. Since coming here we have also discovered that expats are being encouraged here by lower taxes via the non-habitual residency scheme.
Related Blogs
-
Jan 1, 1970Lisbon for Under 5…
Source: Image source: Sun, surf and low rents: why Lisbon could be the next tech capital Lisbon’s 25 April..
-
Jan 10, 2021Money and costs in…
Source: DAILY COSTS BUDGET (up to) €50 Dorm bed: €15–22 Basic hotel room for two: from €30 Lunch special at..
-
Mar 7, 2021Enjoy A Low Cost…
Source: In Portugal, you can enjoy a low cost of living similar to that in Latin America’s more developed countries…with..
-
Jan 1, 1970Health Care System in…
Source: Health Care The World Health Organization ranks the effectiveness of care in Portugal at number 12 in the world,..
-
Jan 1, 1970Portugal is the cheapest…
Source: A three-course meal for a family of four with coffee, beer, and Coca-Cola costs £44.14 Portugal is the..
-
Jan 7, 2020Lisbon Helicopters Offers Aerial…
Source: New flightseeing attraction takes off to provide visitors with a bird's-eye view of the city and beyond Lisbon visitors often..
-
Jan 1, 1970Enjoy a Low Cost…
Source: In Portugal, you can enjoy a low cost of living similar to that in Latin America’s more developed countries…with..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Health Care in Portugal
Source: Health Care The World Health Organization ranks the effectiveness of care in Portugal at number 12 in the world,..
-
Mar 1, 2020Ten free things to…
With its stunning setting, sunny climate and an alluring mixture of old world charms and hip nightlife, it is no..
-
Jan 4, 2018
Enjoy a Low Cost…
Source: In Portugal, you can enjoy a low cost of living similar to that in Latin America’s more developed countries…with..
-
Jan 3, 2018
Portugal is the cheapest…
Source: A three-course meal for a family of four with coffee, beer, and Coca-Cola costs £44.14 Portugal is the..
-
Jan 2, 2018
Portugal is the cheapest…
Source: A three-course meal for a family of four with coffee, beer, and Coca-Cola costs £44.14 Portugal is the..
-
Jan 1, 2018
Health Care
Source: Health Care The World Health Organization ranks the effectiveness of care in Portugal at number 12 in the world,..
-
Jan 12, 2017
Enjoy a Low Cost…
Source: In Portugal, you can enjoy a low cost of living similar to that in Latin America’s more developed countries…with..
-
Jan 10, 2017
Portugal is the cheapest…
Source: A three-course meal for a family of four with coffee, beer, and Coca-Cola costs £44.14 Portugal is the..
-
Jan 9, 2017
Money and costs in…
Source: DAILY COSTS BUDGET (up to) €50 Dorm bed: €15–22 Basic hotel room for two: from €30 Lunch special at..
-
Jan 8, 2017Top 5 free –…
Source: What I can tell you is that Porto is a cool city with a bohemian atmosphere, a city where..
-
Jan 7, 2017
Health Care System in…
Source: Health Care The World Health Organization ranks the effectiveness of care in Portugal at number 12 in the world,..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Enjoy A Low Cost…
Source: In Portugal, you can enjoy a low cost of living similar to that in Latin America’s more developed countries…with..
-
Jan 1, 1970About Portugal – Cost…
Source: Before travelling, consult the indicated average prices of certain products and services, in order to gain an idea of..
-
Oct 4, 2017Cost of Living in…
Source: Image source: The country's economic difficulties have resulted in the overall cost of living in Greece actually becoming cheaper,..
-
Mar 4, 2017
Lisbon for Under 5…
Source: Image source: Sun, surf and low rents: why Lisbon could be the next tech capital Lisbon’s 25 April..
-
Jan 1, 1970Lisbon for Under 5…
Lisbon is not an expensive capital city when compared to the rest of Western Europe and, apart from roaming it’s..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Top 5 free –…
As I’ve been to Porto in the last few days and while I still have clear memories of my trip’s..
-
Jan 1, 1970Ten unusual things to…
Source: Here are ten quirky and cool things you can do in Lisbon for less than 100 euros, total! Enjoy..
-
Jan 1, 1970Renting a House or…
Source: Image source: How to find and lease accommodation in Greece... Finding a rental property in Greece is relatively easy and..
-
Jun 2, 2017Living in Greece as…
Source: Image source: The prospect of living in Greece is inviting for many expatriates. Greece is an extremely vibrant country..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Lisbon for Under 5…
Source: Image source: Sun, surf and low rents: why Lisbon could be the next tech capital Lisbon’s 25 April..
-
Jan 1, 1970Prices in Greece
Source: http://greeklandscapes.com/ Image source: Greece used to be one of the most affordable destinations of Europe, but after the country joined..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Cost of Living in…
Source: Image source: The country's economic difficulties have resulted in the overall cost of living in Greece actually becoming cheaper,..
-
Sep 1, 2017Living in Greece
Source: Image source: The prospect of living in Greece is inviting for many expatriates. Greece is an extremely vibrant country..
-
Feb 1, 2017
Money and costs in…
Source: DAILY COSTS BUDGET (up to) €50 Dorm bed: €15–22 Basic hotel room for two: from €30 Lunch special at..
-
Jan 1, 1970Cost of Living: How…
Source: No doubt you would like to try to estimate how far your euros will stretch and how much money..
-
Jan 1, 1970Cost of living in…
Source: Portugal is, without doubt, one of the best places in Europe to find a low cost of living. However,..
-
Dec 12, 2016One of the best…
Source: HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT OWNING A HOUSE IN PORTUGAL? If you've already been here on holiday, why don't you..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Portugal is the cheapest…
Source: A three-course meal for a family of four with coffee, beer, and Coca-Cola costs £44.14 Portugal is the cheapest..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Health Care
Source: Health Care The World Health Organization ranks the effectiveness of care in Portugal at number 12 in the world,..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Enjoy a Low Cost…
Source: In Portugal, you can enjoy a low cost of living similar to that in Latin America’s more developed countries…with..
-
Oct 10, 2016Public transportation in Portugal
Source: If you are travelling or moving to Portugal, you don't need to worry about public transport not being efficient...
-
Mar 10, 2016
Lisbon for Under 5…
Lisbon is not an expensive capital city when compared to the rest of Western Europe and, apart from roaming it’s..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Top 5 free –…
As I’ve been to Porto in the last few days and while I still have clear memories of my trip’s..
-
Jan 1, 1970
Ten free things to…
With its stunning setting, sunny climate and an alluring mixture of old world charms and hip nightlife, it is no..