Over recent years, real estate prices in Portugal have been progressively rising. Even before the pandemic, which reached the country in March 2020, the real estate market in Portugal already showed signs that were growing quickly. The arrival of the coronavírus and the enforcement of social distancing measures, however, made prices decrease, due to the low number of negotiations taking place.
Now that economic activities were resumed worldwide, prices are going up again. According to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), in September 2021, the House Price Index (IPHab), which reports on housing prices, climbed 6.6% in the second quarter of 2021.
In the first quarter of 2022, the same index went up 12.9%, or 1.3 p.p. more than in the previous quarter. Over this period, prices of existing real estate increased at a faster pace than prices of new housing, jumping 13.6% and 10.9%, respectively.
Compared to the previous quarter, the House Price Index increased 3.8% (2.7% in the quarter before). Looking at different categories, prices for existing real estate grew 4.4%, above price increase for new real estate (1.8%).
In contrast to the increase in real estate prices, the first quarter of 2022, the second consecutive quarter, saw a reduction in the number of purchase and sale transactions in Lisbon (0.9%), as well as a slight decrease in transactions also in Northern and Central regions of the country (-0.9% and -0.2%).
As for the region of Algarve, one of the regions that had the highest appreciation of real estate in Portugal, the purchase and sale of negotiations grew 1.5% in the first quarter of 2022. The regions of Alentejo, and the Autonomous Regions of Portugal, Madeira and Azores, also accompanied this trend of increased sales.
In terms of value, according to INE’s data on July 14, 2022, in the first quarter of 2022, the average price of family housing in Portugal was of 1,454 euros per square meter, which is equivalent to an increase of 17.2% from the previous quarter.
The two subregions that have the highest average housing prices – Algarve (2,237 €/m2) and Lisbon’s Metropolitan Area (1,986 €/m2) – were also the locations with the highest values in both categories of tax domicile of home buyers: national territory (respectively, 2,115 €/m2 and 1,969 €/m2) and foreign territory (2,588 €/m2 and 3,533 €/m2).
Between 2021’s 4th quarter and 2022’s 1st quarter, the year-on-year rate of change in prices increased in nine out of the 11 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, this acceleration rate being superior to the ones seen in a national level (+3.1%), Sintra (+7.9%), Setúbal (+6.5%) and Almada (+3.3%). Both in Lisbon (+2.3%), repeating the previous quarter’s trend, and Cascais (+2.0%) the rate acceleration was less significant. Loures (-2.0%.) and Oeiras (-1.7%) saw negative price change rates.
In the Metropolitan area of Porto, the municipalities of Santa Maria de Feira (+13.8%), Vila Nova de Gaia (+6.8%), Gondomar (+5.3%) and, Porto (+3.7%) also presented a year-on-year rate change higher than seen in the national average. In the other two municipalities with over 100 thousand inhabitants – Matosinhos (- 9.8%) and Maia (- 2.4%) – there was a negative rate.
In summary, the value of a real estate in Portugal can vary greatly, therefore we recommend clients to ensure they get to know the country before making any decisions on what is going to be their destination when moving to the country. Factors such as the age of construction and location are determinants to help choose a property that offers the best value for their money.
In case you want to know more about housing and properties in Portugal, please contact our team – our partner office in Lisbon will help you with the process from beginning to end.
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