According to the real estate company Idealista, during the start of 2024, the Portuguese renting market witnessed an increase in the number of new contracts. Together with the lack of supply, this increase in demand led to another increase in rental prices – this time, a total increase of 9.1%.
Below is a comparison of the prices between July 2023 and July 2024, made according to three different optics – cities, districts, regions.
When it comes to cities, taking 14 district capitals as a representative sample, it is possible to observe that rental prices increased in 12 of the 14 cities – in Coimbra by 18.3%, Viseu by 14.3%, Faro by 13.7%, Porto by 12.3%, Braga by 11.9%, Castelo Branco by 11%, Setúbal by 8.4%, Lisbon by 8.1%, Leiria by 7.6%, Funchal by 5.2%, Aveiro by 4.4%, and Santarém by 4.2%. The only registered decreases were in Évora (-3%) and Viana do Castelo (-1.5%).
Accordingly, analyzing the overall prices and not just the selected timeframe, the six most expensive cities, in terms of rents, are: Lisbon (21.7 euros per square meter), Porto (17.4 euros per square meter), Funchal (14.1 euros per square meter), Faro (12.7 euros per square meter), Setúbal (11.9 euros per square meter), and Aveiro (11.7 euros per square meter). The six less expensive are as follows: Castelo Branco (6.5 euros per square meter), Viseu (7.3 euros per square meter), Viana do Castelo (8.1 euros per square meter), Leiria (8.2 euros per square meter), and Santarém (8.3 euros per square meter).
Out of the 17 districts and islands that were analyzed, over the last year, only three had a decrease in rental prices. Viana do Castelo (-4.4%), Vila Real (-3.7%), Évora (-2.4%), and Madeira Island (-0.7%). On the other hand, following the trend, the prices in the other 13 increased – in Beja by 16.4%, Viseu by 15.8%, Castelo Branco by 14.2%, Santarém by 13.7%, Coimbra by 13.5%, Porto by 13.1%, Setúbal by 9.9%, Leiria by 8.2%, Braga by 7.7%, Lisbon by 7.2%, Aveiro also by 7.2%, Faro by 5.1%, and Portalegre by 5%.
According to the overall prices, the four most expensive districts and/or islands are: Lisbon (19.9 euros per square meter), Porto (15.4 euros per square meter), Faro (14.4 euros per square meter), and Madeira Island (13.6 euros per square meter). On the contrary, the four less expensive are: Portalegre (6 euros per square meter), Vila Real (6.3 euros per square meter), Castelo Branco (7.1 euros per square meter), and Viseu (7.4 euros per square meter).
Finally, in terms of regions, during the last year, prices increased in 5 of the 6 that were considered – in the North by 12.6%, in the Center by 11%, in the Greater Lisbon Area by 8%, in the Algarve by 5.1%, and in Alentejo by 4.3%. The Autonomous Region of Madeira was the only one that did not have an increase, stabilizing at 0.5% instead.
This means that the Greater Lisbon Area remains the most expensive region at 19.3 euros per square meter, followed by the Algarve at 14.4 euros per square meter, the North at 14.1 euros per square meter, and the Autonomous Region of Madeira at 13.6 euros per square meter. On the other hand, the cheapest are the Center (9.3 euros per square meter) and Alentejo (9.9 euros per square meter).
