Barbara Queiróz Updated: September 30, 2025
While Portuguese nationals own the vast majority of local accommodation in Portugal, foreign property owners have increasingly secured a foothold in the market in recent years, with American buyers standing out. US citizens now rank fifth amongst the country’s leading property owners.
Current Market Characteristics
According to data from the National Local Accommodation Registry (RNAL), which is managed by Turismo de Portugal, there were 124,700 local accommodation units registered on the 20th of August 2025. Of these, 117,288 were controlled by Portuguese owners.
More than 94 percent of this sector is controlled by Portuguese nationals, with the remaining 6 percent split between owners from 101 different countries.
Amongst them, the leading three nationalities for the number of registrations are:
- British: 1,762
- French: 1,298
- German: 710
Americans are now the fifth-largest group of property owners. This increase coincides with a growing trend in Americans moving to Portugal. In 2024, there were 20,959 American residents in Portugal, up by almost 50 percent compared with the previous year.
Where are different nationalities buying property?
Interestingly, there are key geographical differences in where different nationalities choose to buy in Portugal.
While Portuguese registrations are spread across the country, foreigners are mainly concentrated in the Algarve. More than 70 percent of units are in the Algarve region, with French and North Americans accounting for more than 50 percent of foreign nationals with properties here.
Lisbon and Porto are, unsurprisingly, also highly sought after by foreign buyers.
Data Reveals Growing Internationalization in Portuguese Property Market
Portugal’s property market has surged exponentially in the past few years, with more foreign buyers seeking out Portugal as a place to relocate to with their families in search of a better quality of life or to retire to.
The launch of the Digital Nomad (D8) Visa in 2022 and Portugal’s appeal amongst entrepreneurs, startup owners, alongside Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, cementing themselves as key tech hubs in Europe, have also made Portugal a standout location.
In 2025, Portugal ranked in sixth position in the Global Intelligence Unit’s (GIU) Digital Nomad Report, with its country, preforming well across all metrics, particularly in the Citizenship and Lagos in the Algarve has also recently announced itself on the world stage as a top location for digital nomads, offering the perfect mix of lifestyle, co-working spaces, and amenities.
The continued growth in tourism has also been a contributing factor, with record numbers of tourists visiting the country each year, and is expected to grow by 9 percent by the end of 2025.
Each of these aspects has led to the internationalization of the Portuguese real estate market, which continues to see record growth.
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