With over 18 years of experience helping investors build and maximise their investment portfolios, IP Global Director, Wealth Management Grant Reynolds knows a thing or two about the global property market. A recent trip to Portugal showed him a prime opportunity for investors, regardless of investment experience.

Read on to learn why Grant Reynolds is excited by Portugal’s potential and how investors can start investing in Europe’s newest property hotspot.

IP GLOBAL IS MOVING INTO THE PORTUGUESE PROPERTY MARKET AND YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT LISBON AND PORTO RECENTLY. WHAT WERE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THESE TWO CITIES?

Before I went to Portugal, I had a view that the country could be a bit down trodden, and under invested given the way it was severely affected during the Financial Crisis.

What I saw was a country on the up, undergoing a huge makeover - vibrant, uplifting and having learnt many lessons from the Financial Crisis which has put Portugal in a great position for the future.

Transport is first class across both Porto and Lisbon. The metro systems I frequently travelled on in both cities, as well as the 3-hour train journey that connects Lisbon and Porto, were modern and super-efficient.

View overlooking Lisbon – Photo by Grant Reynolds

FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH PORTUGAL'S TWO MAIN CITIES, WHAT DO YOU THINK DISTINGUISHES THE PROPERTY MARKETS OF LISBON AND PORTO? 

Porto is the second city in Portugal, benefiting from traditional tourism, Port wine and tech innovation. Within the capital, Lisbon, you have many wonderful old buildings full of character, combined with big corporates such as Linklaters, Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and PWC.

Watch IP Global Founder and CEO Tim Murphy talk through Lisbon and Porto’s highlights

WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST DURING YOUR VISIT? 

How built up both cities are and the great transportation. The big corporate companies operating in Lisbon and the many foreign passengers on our plane from Heathrow to Lisbon show the eagerness to visit and no doubt invest in this country. English is widely spoken due to historically close relations with the UK and Portugal is a country where you feel very safe indeed.

Porto’s Harbour – Photo by Grant Reynolds

WHAT ADVISE DO YOU HAVE FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS WHO ARE NEW TO THE PORTUGUESE MARKET? 

This is a great time to invest in Portugal, lessons learned from the Financial Crisis mean that the property market is solidly underpinned but still offers great value. There is strong under supply across the major cities and you can sign a rental contract for up to 5 years given demand in key areas.

You can download our straight forward Investor’s Guide to Portugal to learn more about the ins and outs of investing in the country.

WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS AN IDEAL TIME TO INVEST IN PORTUGAL?

Lisbon may have been slower to recover from the credit crunch than many other European cities, but it is making up for lost time and has been tipped as the best European city for investment and development in 2019.

Alex Koch de Gooreynd, the head of the Portugal desk for Knight Frank, says: “Solid economic fundamentals, affordable prices, a low cost of living and improving transport connections mean it is an international destination for investors, developers and tourists.”

Throw in the weakness of the EUR to the SGD, HKD, USD, etc and the fact that it's really only 3 years ago that the market started to rebound and in my view you have a great opportunity to buy at value in Portugal.