Asking prices for homes up 7.5% in a year to €3,249 per square metre. Vila Real saw the biggest rise, 20%
At the end of October, the average asking price for flats and houses in Portugal was €3,249 per square metre: 7.5% higher than a year earlier and 1.2% higher than three months earlier. This is a new record, according to the property listings site idealista. Its figures are based on the prices sellers are asking, not the prices homes actually sell for (Jornal Económico; Notícias ao Minuto).
Prices rose in all 20 district and island capitals that idealista looked at. The fastest rise was in Vila Real, at 20.3%, followed by Guarda (18.4%), Beja (17.6%), Leiria (16.9%) and Faro (15.5%). Prices rose most slowly where homes are already among the most expensive: by 3.4% in Funchal and 3.9% in Lisbon. In Porto they rose by 7%.
Lisbon is still the most expensive city, at €6,248 per square metre, followed by Porto (€4,339), Funchal (€4,045), Faro (€3,944) and Setúbal (€3,227). The cheapest are Castelo Branco (€1,119), Portalegre (€1,128), Bragança (€1,147) and Guarda (€1,153).
By region, prices rose most over the year in the Alentejo, by 14.3%, followed by the Azores (13.9%) and central Portugal (12.5%). In Greater Lisbon prices rose by 6.8%, in the Algarve by 7.2% and in the north by 3.8%. A square metre costs an average of €4,525 in Greater Lisbon, €4,231 in the Algarve and €1,810 in central Portugal.
If you are looking for a cheaper home, bear in mind that prices are rising fastest in the cheaper inland towns, while in Lisbon they are growing more slowly but remain the highest.
