Rental prices for homes in Portugal continue to rise, making renting unaffordable for many. As a result, university students, relocated professionals, and those reorganising their family lives due to unemployment or divorce are often pushed towards the shared housing market. Despite an increase in supply over the past year, prices have not dropped, and the demand for rooms to let remains high in in Portugal. On average, there were 22 enquiries per listing in the second quarter of this year, as revealed by the latest analysis from idealista.
Increasing demand for rooms in Portugal
The difficulty in finding rental accommodation in Portugal (and at affordable prices) continues to drive many people to opt for room rentals. Faro had the most enquiries for rooms for rent in the second quarter (52 contacts on average).
Following closely are Porto and Aveiro, where an average of 33 enquiries per room rental listing were recorded in each city. The list of Portuguese district capitals with the highest demand for rooms to let includes Viana do Castelo (31 enquiries per listing), Funchal (29), Braga (26), Bragança (25), Ponta Delgada (24), Setúbal (24), Santarém (24), Évora (23), Leiria (21), and Viseu (21).
Cities with fewer than 20 enquiries per room rental listing include Lisbon (19), Beja (18), Guarda (18), Vila Real (15), Castelo Branco (15), Coimbra (14), and Portalegre (12), according to the data.
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Fewer enquiries for rooms for rent in 7 cities
In Portugal, there has been a 24% decrease in the number of enquiries per advertised room between the second quarter of this year and the same period last year. However, this reduction does not necessarily indicate fewer people interested in renting rooms but rather that demand is more evenly distributed due to the increase in the supply of this type of accommodation (which rose by 57% in the year ending June, according to idealista).
It is also noteworthy that the average number of enquiries per room rental listing has decreased in 7 district capitals over the past twelve months ending in June. Castelo Branco saw the largest decrease in average contacts, down by 44%. This is followed by Lisbon (-38%), Porto (-37%), Viseu (-23%), Santarém (-18%), Coimbra (-17%), and Beja (-2%).
On the other hand, room rental listings in Funchal received, on average, 349% more enquiries. The list of cities with the highest increase in enquiries for room rentals includes Bragança (185%), Guarda (115%), Setúbal (94%), Vila Real (91%), Évora (74%), Aveiro (59%), Faro (51%), Braga (23%), Viana do Castelo (17%), Leiria (17%), Portalegre (11%), and Ponta Delgada (2%).
Methodology
Data collected and analysed by idealista/data, the proptech of idealista that provides information aimed at professionals to facilitate strategic decision-making in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. idealista/data uses all parameters from idealista's database in each country, as well as other public and private data sources, to offer valuation, investment, acquisition, and market analysis services.
