Portugal's Soaring Property Market Outpaces EU
Between October and December 2024, house prices in Portugal rose by 3% compared to the previous quarter, a slower pace than the previous three months (down 0.7 percentage points), but still significantly above the average quarterly increases in the EU (+0.8%) and the Euro Area (+0.6%), according to Eurostat.
On an annual basis, Portugal recorded the third-largest increase in housing prices among EU countries, with a rise of 11.6% compared to Q4 2023. Only Bulgaria (+18.3%) and Hungary (+13.0%) posted higher annual gains. In contrast, France and Finland were the only countries to experience an annual decline in house prices, each falling by 1.9%, while 24 other EU countries saw increases.
Quarter-over-quarter, house prices fell in six EU countries: Estonia (-0.7%), France (-1.0%), Cyprus (-1.0%), Latvia (-0.2%), Austria (-0.6%), and Sweden (-0.3%). Prices remained stable in Malta and Finland and rose in 18 countries. The strongest increases were observed in Slovakia (+3.6%) and Slovenia (+3.1%), ahead of Portugal.
Portugal's 120% increase in house prices since 2010 ranks it 3rd in the EU for price growth.
Since 2010, housing prices in Portugal have climbed by 120%, while rents have increased by 45%. Both figures exceed the EU average, where property prices rose by 55.4% and rents by 26.7%. Eurostat notes that while rents followed a steady upward trend, house prices showed more volatility, surging sharply from early 2015 to late 2022, briefly declining, and then rising again in 2024.
Over the 14-year period, house prices have outpaced rent growth in 21 EU countries. The most dramatic increases were seen in Hungary (+234%) and Estonia (+228%), followed by Lithuania (+187%), Latvia (+153%), the Czech Republic (+142%), Bulgaria (+115%), Austria (+112%), and Luxembourg (+105%). Italy was the only EU country to record a decline in housing prices over this timeframe (-4%).
Meanwhile, rents have increased in 26 EU countries since 2010, with the steepest rises in Estonia (+212%), Lithuania (+175%), and Hungary (+114%). Greece was the only member state where rental prices fell, down 13% over the same period.
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