The price of property in Portugal has started to slow down in the past year, but that doesn't mean demand is cooling. And that's especially true among international homebuyers, who spend more on property than their national counterparts.

Data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) shows that buyers from overseas have been paying more than twice as much per square metre than Portuguese tax residents. In the first quarter of this year, the median price of transactions was 58% higher among international investors.

Between January and March of this year, property purchases of national residents stood at €1,524 per square metre. Meanwhile, buyers from abroad paid a median value of €2,411 per square metre.

The most notorious difference was in the Central Alentejo region, with the average price of transactions involving foreigners 2.5 times higher (almost 148%) than the average transaction price of national buyers.

The pattern was also similar in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas, at 71.% and 70.2% higher, respectively. The difference wasn't as significant in the Algarve, with overseas buyers still spending 23% more per square metre.

Overall, of the 14 regions in which there were transactions involving international real estate investors in the first quarter of the year, only three registered lower average prices than the transactions concluded by domestic buyers.

One way to ensure you're not paying more for your dream property than its fair value is to bring on board a reputable local estate agent. Need advice? Get in touch with us at Algarve Home Sales.