According to idealista, among the 25 municipalities that recorded the highest demand at the end of 2022, North Americans' interest in houses for sale skyrocketed in Funchal, Nazaré, Braga and Vila Real de Santo António between December 2022 and the same month of 2021. Compared to the same period in 2020, demand more than doubled in 18 municipalities.

Lisbon was the municipality that registered the highest number of visits from the North American market, representing 17.5% of the total registered in the 308 municipalities in December 2022. Closely following this is Porto, Cascais, Lagos and Portimão. The municipalities that least seem to arouse interest among North American families in purchasing housing are Barrancos, in Beja, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, in Bragança, and Mêda, in Guarda.

The geographic focus of North Americans changes depending on the type of housing they intend to buy, according to data from idealista.

For example, those who want to buy a house to live in are looking mainly in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel (Azores), in Cascais, in Funchal, in Loulé and in Porto.

“US citizens are still very interested in buying a house in Portugal and moving to our country”, David Moura-George, general manager of Athena Advisers Portugal told idealista.

There are also those who move from the US and prefer to live in the tranquility of the countryside, looking for rustic houses for sale. Here, the greatest interest centres on the municipalities of Castelo Branco, Sintra, Marco de Canaveses, Loulé and Silves. Those looking to buy land - to build a house, for example, or even to install a prefabricated house - do so mainly in the municipalities of Ponta Delgada, Sintra, Cascais, Mafra, Sesimbra and Vila Franca do Campo.