Find out why Portuguese property is a good value!

The World Affairs Council of Austin and IC2 Institute at the University of Texas hosted H.E. Domingos Fezas Vital, Ambassador of Portugal to the USA, and Dr. Rui Boavista Marques, Portuguese Trade and Investment Commissioner to speak on trade and investment opportunities in the Portuguese Republic. Both presentations were insightful sharing that the newly elected Portuguese government's approved budget signals that Portugal is recovering credibility in the markets, as well as with trust, stability and economic optimism.

Portugal’s export driven economic growth has been remarkable. Portuguese exports to the US more than doubled in the last five years from 1 to 2.5 billion Euros. Besides traditional sectors (textiles, footwear, wines, food, ceramics, wood and pulp), Portugal's economy is more and more focused on modern non-traditional industries like renewable energy including solar and wind, as well as new developments in the Blue Economy in part wave technology, along with aerospace, biotech and information technology.

Entrepreneurship is also a focal point in the Portuguese economy. Lisbon, a hotbed for startups with many government-funded business incubators, will host the largest European event on innovation startups, the Web Summit, to be held November 2016.

Portugal’s housing prices are rising rather strongly, amidst a recovering economy. With this said, Portuguese property is very inexpensive. In fact Portuguese property is astonishingly good value. The most expensive housing in Portugal can be found in Algarve and Portugal’s house price to GDP per capita ratio is one of the lowest in Europe, according to Global Property Guide research.

The Ambassador also highlighted the quality of life and lifestyle of Portugal along with the strong continuous relationship between our two countries that dates back to America's Founding Fathers. With any good celebration story, there was mention of wine. Madeira Wine was soon to become one of the Founding Father’s favorite wines to toast such monumental occasions as the Declaration of Independence, Washington’s inauguration, the celebration of establishing Washington D.C. as the nation’s capital and more.

The Portuguese wine tradition continues. The Ambassador made mention that several Portuguese wines were acknowledged in the 2015 Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of The Year list. After speaking with the Ambassador post-presentation, I was curious and took a few minutes to find out more. In the gesture of not drinking alone:

• #16 2009 Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Port Vintage, Score 93, $25;
  
• #24 2002 Blandy's Bual Madeira, Score 94, $50;
  
• #25 2012 Quinta do Crasto Douro Superior, Score 93, $30;
  
• #39 2013 Real Companhia Velha Douro Porca de Murça Red, Score 90, $10
  
• #84 2013 Duorum Douro, Score 91, $20
  

It is said, that only the best wines of the World are featured on this list and in 2015 five Portuguese wines were selected to join this prestigious group. To read more about each of the Portuguese wines I have included a link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-portuguese-wines-wine-spectators-top-100-2015-in-portugal

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