Houses for sale in Portugal continue to become more expensive (albeit at a slower rate), further exacerbating the housing affordability problem currently plaguing the country.
The idealista price index reveals that housing prices in Portugal increased by 2.8% during the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, a trend that set the median housing cost at 2,683 euros per square meter (euros/m2) at the end of June.
This scenario is visible in almost the entire Portuguese territory, since houses became more expensive in 18 district capitals between April and June, with Ponta Delgada leading the increase (8%). Houses also became more expensive in Lisbon (1.3%) and Porto (0.9%). Compared to the annual change, housing prices in the country increased by 7%.
Analysis of the 19 district capitals with representative samples shows that housing prices increased in 18 cities, with Ponta Delgada (8%) leading the increases. Then come Viseu (5.6%), Bragança (4.7%), Santarém (4.5%), Leiria (4.5%), Setúbal (3.9%), Funchal (3.9%), Beja (3.9%), Guarda (3.8%), Évora (3.5%), Faro (1.8%), Aveiro (1.5%), Castelo Branco (1.4%), Lisbon (1 .3%), Porto (0.9%), Vila Real (0.8%), Portalegre (0.6%) and Coimbra (0.6%).
On the other hand, prices fell by 4.3% in Viana do Castelo, which is the only district capital where houses for sale became cheaper during the second quarter of the year.
Lisbon remains the city where buying a house is the most expensive: 5,642 euros per square meter (euros/m2). Porto (3,578 euros/m2) and Funchal (3,388 euros/m2) occupy second and third place respectively. Then come Faro (2,979 euros/m2), Aveiro (2,534 euros/m2), Setúbal (2,391 euros/m2), Évora (2,162 euros/m2), Ponta Delgada (1,932 euros/m2), Coimbra (1,878 euros/m2), Viana do Castelo (1,804 euros/m2), Viseu (1,534 euros/m2), Leiria (1,520 euros/m2), Vila Real (1,268 euros/m2) and Santarém (1,254 euros/m2).
The cheapest cities to buy a house are Guarda (802 euros/m2), Portalegre (805 euros/m2), Castelo Branco (908 euros/m2), Beja (944 euros/m2), Bragança (975 euros/m2).
If we analyze the prices by district and island, the highest increases in the prices of houses to buy occurred in Braga (9.1%), on the island of São Miguel (8.4%), on the island of Pico (6.1%), on the island of Madeira (4.8%), on the island of Terceira (4.3%), Castelo Branco (4.2%), Santarém (3.1%), Setúbal (3.1%), Porto (2.9%), Viseu (2.5%), on the island of São Jorge (2.5%), Évora (2.3%), Lisbon (2.2%) and Portalegre (2.1%). The cities of Leira (1.7%), Faro (1.6%), Beja (1.3%), Aveiro (1.3%) and Vila Real (1.1%) recorded price increases of less than 2%.
Among the 26 districts and islands analyzed, housing for sale became cheaper in only four territories, namely Viana do Castelo (-3.8%), Guarda (-3.6%), Faial Island (- 2.9%) and the island of Porto Santo (-1.2%). In Bragança (0.4%), Santa Maria Island (0.3%) and Coimbra (-0.1%), housing prices remained stable during this period.
The ranking of the most expensive areas to buy a home is dominated by Lisbon (4,096 euros/m2), followed by Faro (3,373 euros/m2), Madeira Island (3,107 euros/m2), Porto (2,656 euros/m2), Setúbal (2,548 euros/m2), Porto Santo Island (2,247 euros/m2), São Miguel Island (1,767 euros/m2), Aveiro (1,709 euros/m2), Braga (1,659 euros/m2), Leiria (1,631 euros/m2), Pico Island (1,458 euros/m2), Santa Maria Island (1,418 euros/m2), Coimbra (1,409 euros/m2), Viana do Castelo (1,381 euros/m2), Évora (1,303 euros/m2), Faial Island (1,276 euros/m2), São Jorge Island (1,249 euros/m2), Terceira Island (1,224 euros/m2) and Santarém (1,171 euros/m2).
The cheapest prices for buying a home are in Guarda (683 euros/m2), Portalegre (733 euros/m2), Castelo Branco (867 euros/m2), Bragança (880 euros/m2), Vila Real (983 euros/m2), Beja (1,085 euros/m2) and Viseu (1,121 euros/m2).
