Lisbon, Feb. 5, 2026 (Lusa) - All the districts in the Portuguese metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, as well as in the Algarve region, have become "inaccessible" for a middle-income family looking to rent a home for the first time, according to a study by real estate agency Century 21.
The three capitals of the areas considered - Lisbon, Porto and Faro - are also ‘totally inaccessible’ in terms of house sale prices, as they require effort rates of more than 50% of average family income.
An effort rate of more than 50% of average family income means that a household is using more than half of its net monthly income to pay credit charges. This is a high financial risk level, indicating an extreme situation that compromises the family's financial health and its ability to meet basic needs.
In the Algarve region, buying a home is equally "inaccessible", while in the Lisbon metropolitan area (AML) there are nine districts where buying a home exceeds "the 50% affordability threshold".
The study "Accessibility to Housing", by the real estate agency Century 21 Portugal and released on Thursday, indicates that sale prices and rents "have increased by 40% or more in most districts" in the AML since 2022, while residents' incomes "have grown by around 15%", at a rate three times slower.
"Buying a 90-square-metre apartment today costs €68,000 to €114,000 more than three years ago, which translates into instalments around €300" more than the figures quoted in 2022.
In terms of rent, increases over the last three years have been around €400 per month, compared to wage increases that the study estimates at around €200.
In the Porto metropolitan area (AMP), prices and rents rose by more than 50% in most districts during the same period, while household incomes "grew by only 18%," according to the analysis.
The increase in the purchase price in the AMP is between €66,000 and €102,000, implying additional instalments of €230 to €400.
For rentals, the increases are around €280 to €500 per month.
In the Algarve, buying a house has required an additional €65,000 to €106,000 since 2022, and renting has involved monthly increases of €300 to €570.
Incomes for residents in the Algarve region have risen by €170 to €240.
The study concludes that house prices have almost doubled in the last five years in Portugal, with a further acceleration of 23.4% in 2025.
The same analysis also estimates that "access to home ownership has become impossible in coastal capitals for an average family, but has remained viable in most inland cities".
In the interior regions, prices in 15 district capitals represented effort rates of less than 50% of income, but only seven were considered "affordable" as they involved effort rates of less than 33%.
As for renting, only two interior district capitals offered prices that did not require a high effort, i.e. less than 33% of income.
The study also establishes that only 48% of houses for sale are "within the reach of 77% of families (up to €330,000), in a clear structural imbalance".
"The problem is not abstract: it is measurable. Supply is not in line with the economic reality of families. This pushes many households into effort rates that are incompatible with a stable life," said the chief executive (CEO) of Century 21 Portugal, Ricardo Sousa, in a statement.
The Century 21 Portugal study focused on access to housing for those looking for their first home in their city, especially families and young people, and was based on prices and rents provided by the real estate database Confidencial Imobiliário (SIR), considering 90 square metre homes and figures for 2025 in mainland Portugal.
The average income used corresponds to the gross income declared after income tax deductions per tax household in 2023, with a projection for 2024 based on the annual evolution of private consumption estimated by the National Statistics Institute, INE.
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