Can Portugal go the way of Canada and ban the sale of homes to non-residents?
The coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda defended this Saturday that it is necessary to ensure that real estate in Portugal is sold only for housing. Catarina Martins was present, this afternoon, at a session on Housing.
The Bloco de Esquerda presented a bill to prohibit the sale of real estate to citizens or companies with headquarters or permanent residence abroad, as a way to combat the increase in prices in the real estate market.
Among the examples invoked in this bill, the BE specifically mentions that, “in Canada, the Liberal Party government prohibited the sale of residential buildings to foreigners, a measure that had already been incorporated in New Zealand and that, recently, will also be a reality on the islands of Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca”.
In Canada, real estate experts say the move is unlikely to drive home prices down. Around here, the sector says that it is neither the right time nor the right measure for the Portuguese reality.
Between July and September last year, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported that more than 42,000 homes were sold in Portugal, 6.6% to foreigners whose tax address was not within the borders.
SIC spoke with the Ministry of Housing which, for now, does not comment on the matter. The Government is carrying out a study to evaluate policies to be implemented in housing, at a time when, across Europe, the movement in Canada is beginning to gain support.