House values increased in the first trimester of 2018
House values increased in the first trimester of 2018

Buying a house is becoming more and more expensive. Property prices in Portugal rose by 3.8% in the first three months of the year, compared with the last quarter of 2017, making the price 1,748 euro per square metre (m2), or 162 euro per square foot (sq ft), according to the idealista price index. Prices rose in all regions of the country except in the Alentejo.

Regions

All regions experienced price increases relative to the fourth quarter of 2017, with the exception of Alentejo, which showed a 4% decline. The regions that have shown the most significant increase are Madeira (10.4%), the North (6%), Lisbon (5.6%) and the Algarve (4.9%). In the Centre, the quarterly variation was only 0.2%.

Lisbon, at 2,482 euro per m2 (230 euro/sq ft), is still the most expensive region to buy a house, followed by the Algarve (1,809 euro/m2 or 168 euro/sq ft) and Madeira (1,493 euro/m2 or 139 euro/sq ft). At the other end of the ranking are the North (1,315 euro/m2 or 122 euro/sq ft), the Alentejo (1,083 euro/m2 or 100 euro/sq ft) and the Centre (962 euro/m2 or 89 euro/sq ft), in that order.

Districts

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, there were nine districts that saw their prices rise in the first quarter of this year. The largest increases were in Madeira (10.9%), Porto (10.6%), Faro (4.9%) and Lisbon (4.5%). On the other hand, the districts that had the greatest drop in the price were Viseu (-5.8%), Vila Real (-5.2%) and Castelo Branco (-4.6%).

As for the ranking of the most expensive districts, it continues to be led, as might be expected, by Lisbon (2,923 euro/m2 or 272 euro/sq ft). It is followed by Faro (1,809 euro/m2 or 168 euro/sq ft) and Porto (1,522 euro/m2 or 141 euro/sq ft). The lowest prices can be found in Santarém (706 euro/m2 or 66 euro/sq ft), Castelo Branco (684 euro/m2 or 64 euro/sq ft) and Portalegre (671 euro/m2 or 62 euro/sq ft).

Capitals of districts

During the first quarter of 2018, ten district capitals experienced increases in house prices. Porto leads the rise among the major cities, with 8.1%, followed by Funchal (7.3%) and Setúbal (5.5%). At the same time, the city of Castelo Branco suffered a 6% fall in prices, almost matched by Viseu (-5.8%) and Vila Real (-4.2%).

Lisbon is still the district capital where buying a property is most expensive, reaching 4,213 euro per m2, or 391 euro per sq ft. Next are Porto (2,439 euro/m2 or 227 euro/sq ft) and Funchal (1,761 euro/m2 or 164 euro/sq ft). In contrast, the capital cities with the lowest prices are Portalegre (753 euro/m2 or 70 euro/sq ft), Santarém (738 euro/m2 or 69 euro/sq ft) and Castelo Branco (716 euro/m2 or 67 euro/sq ft), in that order.