Demand for housing near Lisbon persists despite high rents

The desire to live close to Lisbon is not just apparent in the property sales market; it is equally visible in rentals. Peripheral municipalities around the capital dominate the list of the 10 most sought-after areas for renting a home in the summer of 2025. According to the latest idealista data, demand for housing near Lisbon remains high, even though rents in nearly all neighbouring municipalities exceed €1,000 per month.

This trend shows no signs of slowing. The demand for rental properties in Lisbon’s surrounding municipalities continued strongly in Portugal during the third quarter of 2025. Vila Franca de Xira ranked first among the 50 municipalities most in demand for rentals, followed by Moita, Alenquer, Barreiro, Amadora, Sintra, Loures and Odivelas.

High rents do not appear to be deterring prospective tenants. In almost all 16 Lisbon and Setúbal municipalities listed in the top 50, monthly rents exceed €1,000 – with the exception of Alenquer (€936/month). Sintra and Oeiras recorded the highest rents in the region, both surpassing €1,700 per month.

This surge in rental prices in municipalities surrounding Lisbon is largely a spillover effect. In the capital itself, the median rent reached €1,810 per month during the same period, leaving Lisbon only the 54th most sought-after municipality for rentals nationwide.

A similar pattern is observed in Porto. Five municipalities in the Porto district appear among the 50 most in-demand for rentals (Valongo, Paredes, Gondomar, Trofa and Maia), with rents ranging from around €830 to €1,120 per month. While high and rising, these rents remain below Porto’s median of €1,250, meaning the city itself fell outside the top 50, ranking 72nd.

Faro municipality, with a median rent of €1,663 per month, also does not appear on the list (ranked 55th). The Algarve municipalities experiencing the greatest pressure on rental supply are Olhão, Lagos, Silves, Portimão and Albufeira.

Highest and lowest rents among the most sought-after municipalities

Rents vary significantly across the 50 municipalities most in demand for rentals in Q3 2025. Notably, in half of these municipalities, monthly rents exceed €1,000, particularly in the Faro, Lisbon and Setúbal districts.

Lagos, in Faro district, is the most expensive municipality among the top-ranked, with rents of €1,753 per month. Close behind are Sintra (€1,744/month), Oeiras (€1,743/month) and Albufeira (€1,734/month). Municipalities with rents above €1,500 per month also include Palmela and Olhão.

Outside Lisbon and the Algarve, only five municipalities have rents exceeding €1,000 per month:

• Ponta Delgada (€1,394/month), São Miguel Island, Azores;
• Maia (€1,119/month), Porto district;
• Gondomar (€1,079/month), Porto district;
• Caldas da Rainha (€1,067/month), Leiria district;
• Évora (€1,005/month).

The remaining 25 municipalities in the top 50 have median rents below €1,000 per month and are spread across northern, central and southern Portugal. Chaves, in Vila Real district, has the lowest rents (€558/month) but was only the 47th most sought-after municipality for rentals in summer 2025.

Methodology

The ranking covers the 50 most sought-after municipalities during Q3 2025, considering only those with at least 35 rental listings on idealista, Southern Europe’s leading property marketplace. Median rents for these municipalities were also analysed.

Using idealista’s user behaviour data, an indicator of demand pressure relative to supply was calculated. This is based on the number of ‘leads’ (email contacts, property viewings, and saved favourites) per listing. Leads reflect user demand, while the number of listings reflects available supply. The indicator summarises the pressure of rental demand relative to supply in each municipality, helping identify areas of market heating or cooling when relative demand is high or low, respectively.