Every country has its own property portals, such as Zillow or Realtor.com in the US and Rightmove or Zoopla in the UK. Naturally, Portugal has its own property websites as well. Although you may find some listings on the international section of the UK and US sites, if you’re serious about buying a property in Portugal, you’re best off looking at websites that specifically focus on the Portuguese market.
The important word here is websites as opposed to a single website or app. There isn’t an MLS system in Portugal, which means there isn’t one website that contains all of the different properties available. Idealista.pt probably contains the most, and is typically where most people spend the majority of their search, but once you’re really searching for properties (as opposed to just researching the market), it’s also important to look at the other websites if you want to get a complete view of the market.
Some of the most popular sites include:
- Idealista
- BuyProperty.com
- ImoVirtual
- Green-Acres
- Casa.Sapo.pt
- OLX.pt
- Custo Justo
- Pure Portugal (Focuses on rural properties and land for sale)
- BeEverywhere (For properties for sale by owner, which are usually also listed on green-acres.pt)
There are also some websites aimed at foreign buyers, typically from the UK. These properties are often listed on the sites above, and these sites contain much fewer listings since these agencies really only focus on international buyers rather than both Portuguese and international buyers. Example sites include:
It is also worth looking at the property websites of the big agencies since most agencies only post a handful of the properties on their books. Some of the biggest companies include:
Once you’re ready to buy, going through all of these property websites can take a lot of time. Most allow you to setup email alerts, but most people find themselves checking the sites anyway. If you’re using a buyer’s agent to help you buy a property, they will do this for you, which can save you a considerable amount of time and effort.
Hi James, I see a growing number of people buying a piece of land and siting some sort of movable or portable home on it such as a campervan or motorhome. I realise that most such adventurers (mainly on YouTube) only cover the good side of the lifestyle but is it a viable way of living in Portugal for a normal person who is okay with a bit of work or is it more down to the local municipality as to whether it’s permitted in their region or not?
If such a thing is okay, I’d be looking at somewhere in the Castelo Branco region, as that seems to me to offer a good mix of available sites and a temperate climate. Rather than the hotter south of the country. Personally, distance from airports isn’t a factor although the close proximity of a reasonably large town with facilities would be.
I’m retired or could be a remote worker and initially at least I would probably do the 80 days out of 180 days until I could get a permanent visa.
I’d welcome your thoughts. If an ex-pat forum would be a better place to ask this question, would you be good enough to mention a couple?