Portugal was one of the ‘most resistant’ countries when it came to slumps and fluctuations in property prices, as there had been no previous rapid rise in housing valuations to unsustainable levels, according to Portugal’s largest bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD).

Using data supplied by the European Central Bank (ECB), CGD indicated in their report that Portugal and Germany were relatively unaffected by the global housing bubble bursting.

The report stated that “Between 1996 and 2006, the accumulated real valuation of housing prices exceeded 80% in the United States, Holland and Greece, 110% in Spain, 140% in the United Kingdom and 180% in Ireland”.

In Portugal and Germany meanwhile, price growth was below 10% during the same period, so in the following years they did not endure huge corrections in the cost of housing.