Rents rise 5.5% but fall in Lisbon and Porto

Despite the pandemic prices in Portugal’s residential rental market have risen 5.5% overall.

According to the Portuguese national statistics institute (INE) in data published on Tuesday, if the average cost of renting property was €5.61 per m2 in 2020, this amount climbed to €5.80 in the first quarter of 2021.
There was a like-for-like increase of 5.5%, greater than that registered for the previous quarter, but prices did not rise in all municipal boroughs.
Both Lisbon and Porto saw a fall on the prices charged on year ago.
Between January and March 19, 472 new rental contracts were signed in Portugal, a figure that was less than the 20,830 for the like-for-like period which recorded an average of €5.80 per m2.
In terms of quarter-on-quarter variation, this represented an increase of 0.5% like-fir-like and a growth of 5.5% according to provisional data from the INE.
Looking at the various regions of the country, (NUTS Level III), in the first quarter of 2021the price of rents increased in 17 or the 25 regions in comparison to the first quarter of 2020.
The highest increases were seen in the Terras de Trás-os-Montes (+27.1%), Alto Minho (+11.2%) and Viseu São Lafões (+9.4%).
In terms of reductions in rental charges, Lisbon (€10.99/m2 -9.2%), Porto (€8.30/m2 -6.7%), Oeiras (€9.62 -6.2%), Odivelas (€8.07/m2 -3.2%) and Almada (€8.29/m2 -11%).
Rents in Cascais, however, went up slightly (€10.49/m2 +0.7%). Amadora stayed the same.
Rents in Gondomar were +12%, Guimarães (+9.8%), Loures (+7.6%) and Santa Maria da Feira (+8.3%).
Rents also went up in Sintra, Barcelos, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Coimbra, Seixal, Setúbal and Vila Franca de Xira but below the national average.