Most of the preferred municipalities have houses for sale over 300,000 euros

Buying a Home in Portugal Proves to Be a True Challenge Due to High Prices

Buying a home in Portugal is today a true challenge due to the high prices felt, especially in the urban centers of Lisbon, Porto, and Faro. Yet families remain interested in living close to these large cities, with special emphasis on the municipalities surrounding the capital, which once again lead the demand for housing at the national level. However, even by moving to the outskirts, they do not escape the high cost of housing, which tends to rise through a contagion effect. The most recent data from idealista reveal that the vast majority of the 50 most sought-after municipalities to buy a home have median prices exceeding €300,000.

Municipalities Near Lisbon Once Again Lead the Demand for Homes for Sale

The ranking of the 50 most sought-after municipalities to buy a home in Portugal in the third quarter of 2025 once again reinforces a trend already identified in the sector: the greatest interest continues to be centered in the municipalities surrounding Lisbon. Amadora was the most sought-after municipality of all, followed by Moita, Odivelas, Alenquer, Vila Franca de Xira, Oeiras, Barreiro, Sintra, Palmela, and Loures. The city of Lisbon itself appears in 12th position.

Greater Lisbon, in fact, includes 17 municipalities among the 50 most sought-after nationwide for buying a home – the only one not appearing on the list is Alcochete, which ranks 53rd, according to data from idealista/data for the summer of 2025.

The Porto Metropolitan Area, on the other hand, has only seven municipalities among those that attract the most interest for purchasing housing, with the first appearing in 13th position: Paredes. The Invicta region’s list is completed by Maia, Gondomar, Valongo, Vila do Conde, Matosinhos, and Santa Maria da Feira. The city of Porto itself is outside this ranking, being only the 59th most sought-after.

Another major absence from this top 50 ranking for housing demand is the municipality of Faro, which ranks 55th. There are only five Algarve municipalities in this list, mostly occupying the last positions: Vila Real de Santo António (34th), Tavira (42nd), Portimão (44th), Albufeira (48th), and Silves (49th). The high prices of homes, which exceed €400,000 in median terms, may help explain this.

Therefore, the most recent data from idealista/data continue to suggest that the trend of looking for homes for sale in the outskirts of Lisbon, Porto, and Faro strengthened in the summer of 2025. This may be explained by the fact that these locations still offer lower housing prices than urban centers — although prices are also high due to contagion effects.

Buying a Home in Portugal: The 50 Most Sought-After Municipalities

Data from Q3 2025

Source: idealista/data – Created with Datawrapper

How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Home in the Most Sought-After Municipalities?

When analyzing the home prices in the 50 most sought-after municipalities, one reality stands out: the vast majority have homes for sale priced above €300,000 (78% of the total, equivalent to 39 municipalities). Among these, there are 10 municipalities where median home prices exceed €500,000.

The most expensive municipality of all is Cascais, where the median cost of buying a home exceeds €1.3 million in the third quarter of 2025. Next comes Oeiras (€738,000), Albufeira (€708,000), and Lisbon (€695,000), according to the same data.

Many of these most expensive municipalities end up being within reach only for wealthier families or investors, and therefore fall into the second half of the demand ranking. In other words, interest becomes less significant due to high prices. This is the case with Albufeira, which ranks 48th. Óbidos is another example — the fifth most expensive municipality to buy a home (€630,000), ranking 41st in demand.

Even so, 11 of the most sought-after municipalities to buy a home have prices below €300,000. Two of them are in Greater Lisbon: Barreiro (€290,000) and Moita (€267,000). The cheapest of all among those attracting most interest from families and investors is Castelo Branco, with a median housing cost of €151,000, followed by Covilhã (€176,000).

Most Expensive Municipalities to Buy a Home Among the 50 Most Sought-After

Data from Q3 2025
Median home prices (euros)

Source: idealista/data – Created with Datawrapper

Methodology

We calculated the ranking of the most sought-after municipalities during the third quarter of 2025, among those that had more than 500 listings of homes for sale on idealista (the leading real estate marketplace in Southern Europe). Then, we also analyzed the median prices of the 50 most sought-after municipalities to buy a home in Portugal.

Using idealista user behavior data, we collected the indicator of relative demand pressure over supply. This indicator is based on the number of leads (contacts by email, offers made, and properties saved as favorites) received per listing on idealista. On the one hand, leads represent housing demand by users; on the other hand, the number of listings measures the available housing supply on the platform.

In this way, the indicator synthesizes the pressure of home-buying demand over supply in each municipality in Portugal, serving to measure market heating or cooling situations when relative demand is high or low, respectively.