Buy a house in Portugal: over 150,000 euros is worth 5 out of 6

In Portugal, families face difficulties in finding affordable housing. This task is particularly difficult at a time when the cost of living is rising sharply and property purchase prices are rising relentlessly (albeit at a slower pace), accompanied by a corresponding rise in wages. And for those on low incomes looking for more affordable housing, there is no good news: only 15% of properties for sale in the fourth quarter of 2023 had a price below 150,000 euros, according to a study published by idealista.

The majority of properties offered for sale on the idealista platform are cottages (62%), while apartment sales account for only 38%. In terms of housing typology, the most popular are two-bedroom apartments (38%), followed by two-bedroom apartments (30%), one-bedroom apartments (16%), four-bedroom or more (12%) and finally studios (4%), indicates the research of idealista, the property platform of Southern Europe.

Houses selling for less than 150,000 euros: which neighborhoods have the most of them?

The heterogeneity of the Portuguese real estate market is reflected in the significant variation in the proportion of housing priced below 150,000 euros in each region and island. In 14 regions, at least 40% of affordable housing is available for sale, while in five regions the supply is less than 10%.

In the most dynamic markets - near major cities - the share of housing at this price is very small. Such is Faro, where only 3% of the properties on offer have a price below 150,000 euros. It is followed by Madeira (4%), the island of Porto Santo (4%), as well as Lisbon (5%) and Porto (7%).

On the other hand, there are areas and islands that usually offer more affordable housing, such as Guarda, where 75% of the offers have prices below 150,000 euros.

In nine districts and islands, the supply of housing priced below 150,000 euros is average: Coimbra (39%), Faial Island (36%), Pico Island (30%), Viana do Castelo (26%), Leiria (24%), Sant Miguel Island (20%), Aveiro (18%), Braga (16%) and Setubal (12%).

The majority of housing offers priced below 150,000 euros are two-bedroom apartments, with the exception of Viseu, Vila Real, Guarda, Leiria, Castelo Branca, Santarém, Bragança, Portalegre and Flores Island, where two-bedroom apartments predominate. Setubal is the area with the highest proportion of two-bedroom apartments in this price category, accounting for 58% of the total supply. This is followed by Pico Island (54%), Sant Jorge Island (47%), Faial Island (47%) and Lisbon (45%). In Porto, one-bedroom apartments account for 40% of the total supply.

Studios are the least common type of housing priced below 150,000 euros in almost all areas except Porto Santo Island, Isla Graciosa and Isla Flores, where they are practically non-existent. In Portalegre, Évora and Beja, only 1% of the offers at this price are studios. And Faro (19%), Braga (10%), Lisbon (6%), Madeira (6%) and Porto (6%) have the highest proportion of studios.

Methodology

The data has been collected and analyzed by idealista/data, idealista's platform that provides information to a professional audience to facilitate strategic real estate decisions in Portugal, Spain and Italy. Idealista/data uses all the parameters of the idealista database in each country, as well as other open and closed data sources, to provide valuation, investment, agency and analytical services in the real estate market.