House rents fall 2.9% in May

The average cost of renting a property fell 2.9% in May on the previous month in what was the fourth consecutive monthly fall.

According to the idealista price index, renting a house cost €16.3 per square meter (euros/m2) at the end of the month, considering the average value, moving away from the historical maximum of 17 euros/m2, recorded in October 2025.

This is a downward trend that has been consolidating over the last four months, with decreases of 1.9% in January, 1.4% in February, 1.2% in March and 2.7% in April.

District and Autonomous Region Capital Cities

The price of houses for rent increased in 11 of the 15 district and autonomous region capitals analysed and decreased in the remaining four.

The largest annual increases were recorded in Viana do Castelo (17.5%), Castelo Branco (14.8%), Faro (11.2%) and Funchal (10.8%). These were followed by Évora (8.1%), Ponta Delgada (8.1%), Setúbal (6.9%), Santarém (4%), Leiria (2.2%), Aveiro (1.9%) and Coimbra (1%). Conversely, annual decreases were recorded in Viseu (-8.4%), Porto (-7.7%), Lisbon (-2.7%) and Braga (-0.9%).

Lisbon continued to be the most expensive city to rent a house, with an average price of €21.8/m2, followed by Funchal (€16.9/m2) and Porto (€16.4/m2).

Next came Faro (€14.6/m2), Setúbal (€13.9/m2), Évora (€12.9/m2) and Coimbra (€12.7/m2).

These were followed by Aveiro (€11.6/m2), Ponta Delgada (€11.3/m2), Viana do Castelo (€10.2/m2) and Braga (€10.1/m2).

In the intermediate segment were Santarém (€9.4/m2) and Leiria (€9.2/m2).

The most affordable capitals continue to be Viseu (€7.6/m2) and Castelo Branco (€7.4/m2).

Source: Idealista; Credits: Universidade Cátolica: Viseu is among the most affordable cities to rent a house in Portugal.