The market in official numbers
Portugal's statistics institute, INE, publishes two things: median prices of homes that actually sold, and a house price index. Both say the same thing — fast growth, just past its peak.
| Indicator (INE) | Value | Period |
| Median sale price, national | €2,198/m², +17.5% year-on-year | Q4 2025 (latest local-level data) |
| Median sale price, full year | €2,076/m² (+16.8% vs 2024) across 164,677 sales | 2025 |
| House Price Index (IPHab) | +17.8% y/y — the first deceleration since Q2 2024 (Q4 2025 was +18.9%). Existing homes +19.7%, new builds +12.6% | Q1 2026 |
| Transactions | 37,745 homes sold, −8.7% y/y — second consecutive fall. Foreign-tax-domicile buyers: 1,770 sales, −15.6% y/y | Q1 2026 |
| What foreign buyers paid | Median €2,934/m² for non-resident-domiciled buyers vs €2,174/m² for residents | Q4 2025 |
For context, Eurostat data put Portugal's Q4 2025 growth (+18.9%) second-highest in the EU, and the decade 2015–2025 at +180% cumulative. The read for buyers: prices are high and still climbing, but the frenzy is cooling — sales volumes are falling and negotiating room is returning.
Prices area by area
Two kinds of numbers below. OFFICIAL = INE medians of actual sale prices. ASKING = Idealista advertised prices, which run structurally higher than what homes sell for. Periods differ by row — we state each one.
| Area | €/m² | ≈ USD/m²* | Basis | Period |
| Portugal (national) | €2,198 | $2,572 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Q4 2025 |
| Portugal (national) | €3,156 | $3,693 | ASKING — Idealista | Jun 2026 |
| Lisbon (city) | €5,198 | $6,082 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Q4 2025 |
| Cascais | €4,654 | $5,445 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Q4 2025 |
| Grande Lisboa (sub-region) | €3,439 | $4,024 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Full-year 2025 |
| Porto (city) | €4,044 | $4,731 | ASKING — Idealista† | Apr 2026 |
| Península de Setúbal | €2,596 | $3,037 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Full-year 2025 |
| Madeira | €2,500 | $2,925 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Full-year 2025 |
| Algarve (region) | €3,295 | $3,855 | OFFICIAL — INE median sale | Q4 2025 |
The Algarve, town by town
In 2025, 14 of the Algarve's 16 municipalities sold above the national median. INE's official municipal medians for 2025: Loulé €3,993/m² ($4,672) and Lagos €3,801/m² ($4,447). Below that level of detail, the numbers are portal asking prices — every row in this table is ASKING (Idealista).
| Area | Asking €/m² | ≈ USD/m²* | Y/Y | Period |
| Almancil (covers Quinta do Lago / Vale do Lobo) | €6,371 | $7,454 | +14.1% | Apr 2026 |
| Quarteira (covers Vilamoura) | €5,165 | $6,043 | +10.9% | Apr 2026 |
| Loulé (municipality) | €4,669 | $5,463 | +9.6% | May 2026 |
| Lagos | €4,609 | $5,393 | +9.4% | May 2026 |
| Lagoa | €4,016 | $4,699 | +6.6% | May 2026 |
| Albufeira | €3,953 | $4,625 | +6.8% | May 2026 |
| Faro (city) | €3,792 | $4,437 | +15.3% | May 2026 |
| Tavira | €3,541 | $4,143 | +8.1% | May 2026 |
| Portimão | €3,414 | $3,994 | +12.9% | May 2026 |
| Olhão | €3,281 | $3,839 | +8.2% | May 2026 |
| Algarve (region, asking) | €4,069 | $4,761 | +9.6% | Jun 2026 |
*Converted at €1 = $1.17 (8 July 2026), rounded to the nearest dollar. †Porto: INE's official city-level median wasn't retrievable in this verification pass, so we show the Idealista asking figure and label it as such; note that Idealista doesn't publish a "Vilamoura" zone — Vilamoura sits inside the Quarteira parish figure.
Read Almancil against Lisbon: the Golden Triangle's asking prices (€6,371/m²) now exceed Lisbon city's official median (€5,198/m²). And note the foreign-buyer premium in the INE data — non-residents paid a median €2,934/m² nationally vs €2,174/m² for residents in Q4 2025. Part of that is what non-residents buy; part of it is what they're asked to pay. Negotiate.
Where our numbers come from
- INE (Instituto Nacional de Estatística) — the official source. Publishes quarterly median €/m² of actual sales down to parish level (with a ~2-quarter lag; Q1 2026 local data expected late July 2026), the IPHab house price index, transaction counts, and buyer-domicile splits.
- Idealista — Portugal's most granular portal price series: monthly asking €/m² by district, municipality, and parish.
- Imovirtual and Casa Sapo — secondary portals; Imovirtual reports average advertised total prices (mix-sensitive), Casa Sapo runs a market barometer with stock and time-on-market.
The honesty note: asking prices run above final sale prices — nationally, €3,156/m² asked (Jun 2026) vs €2,198/m² sold (Q4 2025). Different periods and property mixes, so don't treat the gap as an exact discount — but never pay the sticker without checking the INE median for the area.
What to watch
The 7.5% non-resident IMT is now law. Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 (20 May 2026) hits non-resident buyers of residential property with an aggravated IMT transfer tax of 7.5%. Two routes to a refund of the difference (you pay the 7.5% upfront): become Portuguese tax resident within 2 years of purchase, or put the property into long-term rental (≤€2,300/month) within 6 months, rented at least 36 months within the first 5 years. If you're buying before you move, this changes your math — price it in.
Golden visa: the real-estate route ended in October 2023 and remains dead. Buying property in Portugal confers no residence right; the programme survives only via the €500,000 investment-fund route (non-real-estate funds). And a standing flag: under the May 2026 nationality reform, citizenship for expats now requires 10 years' residence, not the 5 you'll still see quoted on older sites.
Market direction: growth is decelerating for the first time in about two years (+17.8% in Q1 2026, down from +18.9%), sales volumes are falling (−8.7% y/y; Algarve −10.7%, Madeira −25.6%), and foreign-domiciled purchases are down 15.6%. Madeira is genuinely cooling — medians fell 8.3% y/y in Q4 2025. Sellers' leverage is past its peak.
What we left out: INE's official municipal medians for Porto city, Albufeira, Tavira, and Faro didn't clear this verification pass (INE's database blocked automated access). Rather than guess, we've used labelled asking figures for those towns and will add the official medians once pulled.
This page is general information, not legal or investment advice. Always engage an independent lawyer — not the seller's — for any purchase.