Government measures to curb the rapidly escalating price of residential property in Portugal have failed dismally as 2025 registers the ‘highest percentage increases ever’.
The news follows yet another round of street protests (demanding more public housing) in various cities of the country yesterday. It comes from statistics institute INE which reveals that the housing price index increased 17.6% in 2025 – 8.5 percentage points more than in 2024, and the highest rate ‘since records began’.
In 2025, the value of residential property transactions reach €41,200 million – 21.7% more than in 2024. Of those sales, 30.5 million corresponded to the sale of existing properties (25% more than in 2024) and 10.7 million were new-builds (13% more than in 2024).
Sales to families increased 24.4%, representing 86.8% of total sales. Sales to ‘buyers with a fiscal residence in Portugal’ (ie foreigners) also grew last year, by 10.1%, representing 161,341 properties.
With regard to buyers with tax residence outside Portugal, the number of transactions fell for the third consecutive year, by 13.3%, to 8,471 properties.
Among buyers from outside the country, the European Union category accounted for 4,416 properties (-9.6% compared to 2024), higher than the figure for the ‘other countries’ category, which stood at 4,055 properties (-17.1% compared to 2024).
In a regional analysis, INE found that in 2025, comparatively more sales were taking place in the centre and west regions, while demand was tailing off in Lisbon and Madeira (two of the most expensive areas where prices have become prohibitive).
To make matters worse, as yesterday’s protest was only too eager to point out, just in the last three months of 2025, prices (for buying and renting property) increased compared to the previous three months by more than 18%. Securing a roof over one’s head has never been this difficult, or expensive.
Source: SIC Notícias
