Government says new land law will slash 20% off new house prices
The Government has insisted that Portugal’s new land law will lower the price of new houses in metropolitan areas and district capitals by 20%, setting values below those recorded in the country in 2024.
According to news agency Lusa, the Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida has rejected the accusation that he is simply “issuing a blank cheque for corruption” to mayors and says the “new law sets maximum prices for new houses that are below the average values of real estate transactions registered in Portugal in 2024″.
The minister also used the National Statistics Institute (INE) to back up his argument that “the current average price per square meter for new houses is 50% higher than that of used housing”.
“Being able to buy new houses in which the maximum price limit is 20% below current market prices not only deters, but also stops speculation,” says Minister Castro Almeida.
The Government adds that the law published on December 30, 2024, which will allow municipalities to free up rustic land for the construction of houses for the middle class at moderate prices, will have a relevant anti-speculative effect on the market.
Using the analysis of the values of the deeds of new houses registered on the Confidencial Imobiliário platform in 2024, the ministry states that “the average values per square meter of houses sold in municipalities with the greatest demand — Greater Porto, Greater Lisbon and district capitals — are notoriously higher than the maximum cap imposed by Decree Law 117/2024”.
“In addition to Lisbon or Cascais, where the difference reaches 45% and 48%, there are other towns and cities such as Sintra (36%) Viana do Castelo (34%), Gaia (32%), Braga (28%), Vila do Conde (27%), Viseu and Setúbal (26%), Barreiro (24%), Oeiras (23%), Aveiro (23%) or Coimbra (21%), where the limit imposed by the new law is considerably below the prices currently practiced in the market,” continues the information sent to Lusa by the ministry.