The rental market in Portugal is going through a distinctive period. After a broad upward trend in prices nationwide, driven by low inventory and high demand, regional differences are now becoming clearer.
Incentives to buy homes have boosted transactions overall, leading to a 2.4% drop in house rentals across the country, even in a context where available supply has fallen by 13%.
However, there are local markets, especially in the largest cities, that continue to attract strong interest. In these areas, where demand pressure remains intense, homes are effectively “flying” off the market, with 11% rented in less than 24 hours.
idealista’s latest analysis confirms this trend:
- Each advertised home received an average of 24 contacts in the first quarter of 2026
- This represents a 20% increase compared with the same period of the previous year
“The data reveals that the demand for rental homes continues to be well above the available supply in several areas of the country. Pressure on the market remains high, especially in large urban centres, where there continues to be strong competition among families for each advertised home,” says Ruben Marques, spokesperson for idealista.
Which cities have the highest demand for rental homes?
In the first quarter of the year, the Portuguese district capitals with the highest average number of contacts per rental property advert were:
Top capitals by average contacts per rental advert
City | Contacts per advert |
|---|---|
Leiria | 31 |
Santarém | 29 |
Faro | 27 |
Beja | 26 |
Castelo Branco | 26 |
Other cities with high levels of demand for houses for rent:
City | Contacts per advert |
|---|---|
Ponta Delgada | 23 |
Setúbal | 23 |
Lisbon | 21 |
Bragança | 21 |
Porto | 20 |
A second group of capitals recorded slightly lower, but still significant, pressure:
- Évora and Funchal – 19 contacts per advert
- Aveiro and Viseu – 17
- Braga – 16
Coimbra and Viana do Castelo appear at an intermediate level, with 14 contacts per advert.
Guarda and Vila Real, with 12 contacts per advert, were the capitals with the lowest demand pressure in the period analysed.
How has demand for rental properties changed over the past year?
The demand for rental properties has not evolved uniformly over the past year. The same idealista analysis shows that the average number of contacts per listing increased in nine major cities and decreased in eight.
The largest increase in demand in the residential rental market was recorded in Porto, with an 82% rise,
- Beja – up 30%
- Coimbra – up 27%
- Lisbon – up 24%
- Leiria – up 15%
- Faro – up 8%
- Viana do Castelo – up 8%
- Aveiro – up 6%
- Castelo Branco – up 4%
By contrast, the biggest decline in interest in houses for rent occurred in Vila Real (-33%), followed by Guarda (-25%), Évora (-24%), Santarém (-24%), Setúbal (-18%), Viseu (-15%) and Funchal (-14%). There was also a fall in Braga (-6%).
Porto and Lisbon districts stand out due to increased rental demand
At district and island level, Setúbal recorded the highest average number of contacts per advert in the first quarter of the year, with 30 contacts.
- This was followed by Lisbon (27), Bragança and Portalegre (23), and Leiria, Porto and Santarém (22).
- The district with the fewest contacts per advert was Viana do Castelo, with just 13.
The biggest increase in demand for houses to rent was recorded in the Porto district, where the average number of contacts per advert rose by 57% compared with the same period of the previous year.
- Lisbon also showed significant growth (23%), followed by Coimbra (17%), Beja (14%) and Braga (6%).
Conversely, the sharpest falls in demand for rental properties over the past year were seen in Portalegre (-31%), Évora (-29%), Santarém (-24%) and on the island of Madeira (-18%).
- In Faro and Viana do Castelo, this indicator remained stable over the period.
Methodology
The data was collected and analysed by idealista/data, the proptech arm of idealista that provides information for professionals to support strategic decision-making in Portugal, Spain and Italy.
idealista/data uses all relevant parameters from the idealista database in each country, as well as other public and private data sources, to offer valuation, investment, fundraising and market analysis services.
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