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

In Portugal, families face the challenge of finding affordable housing. This is particularly difficult at a time of rising cost of living and rising property prices to buy (albeit at a slow pace), with wages keeping pace. And there is no good news for those on low incomes looking for more affordable housing: only 15% of dwellings for sale in Portugal in the fourth quarter of 2023 cost less than 150,000 euros, according to a study by idealista.

The majority of houses for sale on idealista during this period were villas (62%), apartments accounted for only 38%. In terms of house type, two-bedroom properties were the most common (38%), followed by three-bedroom properties (30%), one-bedroom properties (16%), four-bedroom or larger (12%) and finally studios (4%), as indicated in a study by Idealista, a real estate marketplace in Southern Europe.

Housing in Portugal for less than 150,000 euros: which areas have the most affordable housing?

The heterogeneity of the Portuguese real estate market is reflected in the wide variety in the number of dwellings priced below 150,000 euros, in every district and on every island. In 14 regions, at least 40% of housing is for sale at affordable prices, while in 5 such areas the proportion is less than 10%.

The most dynamic real estate markets close to major urban centers have few homes at this price, such as in Faro, where only 3% of homes for sale cost less than 150,000 euros. They are followed by Madeira Island (4%), Porto Santo Island (4%) and the Lisbon (5%) and Porto (7%) areas.

At the other end of the spectrum are the areas and islands where the cheapest houses are usually sold, such as Guarda, where 75% of offers are priced below 150,000 euros.

The average selection of affordable homes, less than 150,000 euros, was found in 9 districts and islands, such as Coimbra (39%), Faial Island (36%), Pico Island (30%), Viana do Castelo (26%), Leiria (24%), São Miguel Island (20%), Aveiro (18%), Braga (16%) and Setubal (12%).

Among property offers priced below 150,000 euros, two-bedroom homes are the most common in most areas, with the exception of Viseu, Vila Real, Guarda, Leiria, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Bragança, Portaleja and Flores Island, where three-bedroom properties predominate.

Setubal is the area where two-bedroom dwellings predominate, accounting for 58% of offers priced below 150,000 euros. This is followed by Pico Island (54%), São Jorge Island (47%), Faial Island (47%) and Lisbon (45%). In Porto, two-bedroom houses account for 40% of the total number of offers.

Studios are the least common type of housing for sale for less than 150,000 euros, in almost all areas - on the island of Porto Santo, Isla Graciosa and Isla Flores they are almost nonexistent. In Portaleja, Evora and Beja they represent only 1% of the total number of offers at this price. Faro (19%), Braga (10%), Lisbon (6%), Madeira (6%) and Porto (6%) have the highest share of studios.