According to JE (Jornal Económico), despite reduced foreign demand and persistently high interest rates, housing prices in Portugal continued to rise rapidly in 2024, with an annual increase of 9.1%, and the number of home sales reached a new record high.
Based on data from the Housing Price Index released this Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the real estate market continues to heat up, with transaction volumes rebounding significantly.
The data show that in 2024, Portuguese housing prices increased by an average of 9.1%, and home sales rose by 14.5%, reaching 156,325 units, marking a strong recovery from the decline in 2023. The upward trend in housing prices persisted throughout the year and reached a year-on-year increase of 11.6% in the fourth quarter, the highest level since the summer of 2022. At the same time, more than 45,000 homes were sold in the fourth quarter, the highest quarterly figure since the end of 2021.
INE data show that the strong growth in sales and prices in 2024 pushed the total transaction value to €33.8 billion, setting a new historical record, and representing an increase of 20.8% compared to 2023. Of this total, the transaction value of new homes accounted for less than one-third, reaching €9.4 billion.
The number of homes purchased by households increased in line with the overall transaction volume. The market share of individual buyers rose slightly to 86.1%, although their share of the total transaction value fell by 22.3%. It is worth noting that despite the market recovery, interest from foreign buyers declined. The number of properties purchased by foreign individuals and entities in Portugal fell by 5.9%, to 9,774 units; in contrast, property purchases by Portuguese individuals and entities increased by 16.2%, reaching 146,551 units.
Overall, despite reduced foreign demand and a high-interest rate environment putting some pressure on the market, the Portuguese real estate market in 2024 showed strong signs of recovery, with both prices and transaction volumes hitting new record highs.