Portugal sees significant growth in property prices in the face of global uncertainty

Imovirtual, real estate and property management portal in Portugal, report 12% increase property prices during these challenging times.

The current global pandemic, COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has undoubtedly created a wave of concern amongst the entire worldwide population, for both health and financial reasons. As of March 18th 2020, the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced a state of emergency, leading the nation to practice social distancing measures with restricted access to public places and transport.

Residents of the European hotspot are at a standstill whilst tourists have been advised to not visit throughout the duration of the pandemic until it is safe to do so. Stock markets, businesses and homeowners are experiencing a period of uncertainty, however in the midst of the current crisis, asking prices of properties in Portugal continue to grow and increase at an encouraging rate.

Continued Growth Since March 2019

Compared to last year, March 2019, Imovirtual reports that property ​asking prices across Portugal have experienced a 12% increase​, suggesting that during the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, Portugal’s housing market remains resilient. ​The average asking price rose from €316,629 in March 2019 to €354,757 in the same period of 2020​, Evora and Setubal contributed towards the highest growth in the average asking price announced, with Evora recording an increase from €177,814 to €215,045 whilst Setubal reported an increase from €243,869 to €294,817. Although both Evora and Setubal have recorded considerable growth in the space of 12 months, the two districts are not the most expensive destinations to live in.

Unsurprisingly, popular locations such as Lisbon and Algarve district, Faro are both areas with the highest average sale price, €573,021 and €454,030 respectively, whilst Castelo Branco (€119,947) and Beja (€130,719) are destinations with the lowest property prices.

Portalegre, found near the Spanish border, experienced the largest decrease in the average property prices in Portugal, reporting a 12% reduction as opposed to last year’s figures. Although prices of houses have dropped, Portalegre possesses the highest average price growth in rental properties with a 26% increase since last year (now offering an average of €390 per month).

House prices in Portugal have evidently increased since 2019, positioning the nation at a great advantage during the first quarter of 2020. However, although house prices have risen, contrary to the increase in sales price, the average price of rental properties has declined by 8% in comparison to this time last year.

Lisbon and Porto, the two largest cities situated in Portugal, attain the highest average lease price, €1,595 and €1,156 per month respectively, whilst the districts with the lowest announced average price for rent are Guarda and Castelo Branco, total at an average of €366 and €387 per month. Faro and Braganca reported the largest percentage reduction regarding average announced prices for rent, marking a decrease of 26% (€838) and 22% (€393) respectively.

An Upward Trend Between February and March 2020

Since the vast number of reported cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Europe during January, lockdown measures and financial uncertainty have completely transformed public spending habits and behaviour.

Due to the persistent spread of the virus, the potential of a global housing crisis has been a topic of conversation amongst numerous nations. Portugal has however noted an increase in asking prices of properties since February 2020, despite the intensity of the global pandemic. Within a month, the average asking price has increased by 1%; the average asking price in February being €234,038 and in March €236,399 – a price difference of €2,361.

The capital Lisbon reported that in February 2020 the average asking price was €563,469, meaning that average asking prices in Lisbon during March increased by a total of €9,552. Similarly, Porto witnessed a notable increase with average asking prices totalling at €308,013 in February compared to €318,027 in March; a striking increase of €10,014. Districts such as

Setubal, Faro and Brago also experienced an increase in asking prices since February 2020, validating that the housing market in Portugal continues to present strong figures, regardless of the current situation with COVID-19.

Regarding the rental market, Imovirtual reports a moderate increase in prices per month since February 2020. Average rent prices in the nation equalled to €655, compared to March’s €660. Locations such as Lisbon and Braga noted an increase in rent prices, marking a growth of 2.4% (€1,595) and 3.4% (€763) respectively.

For more about Portugal’s rising house prices, please visit:

https://www.imovirtual.com/noticias/atualidade/house-price-growth-rises-to-12-in-march-2020-compared-to-the-same-period-of-the-previous-year-id215.html

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Imovirtual is a real estate and property management portal based in Portugal with a portfolio of over 300,000 properties across both long-term and short-term property requirements. Based in the capital, Lisbon, Imovirtual offers the simplest, fastest and most practical method of searching for properties across all districts and regions in Portugal.https://www.imovirtual.com/en/

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