Renting a Home in Portugal Remains a Challenge Despite Increased Supply

Renting a home in Portugal continues to be a challenge for thousands of families, despite the recent increase in available rental properties. The shortage of homes for rent continues to put pressure on prices, even though there has been a slight slowdown in the growth of rental costs. The Idealista price index shows that, in May, the price of rental homes rose by 4.4% compared to the same month last year (while in April, it had increased by 5.1% year-on-year). Thus, the median rental price in Portugal stood at €16.8 per square meter (€/m²) at the end of May. On a quarterly basis, rental prices became 2.4% more expensive.

Rents Continue to Rise in Most Major Cities

Among the 13 district or autonomous region capitals, rental prices increased in Viseu (14.9%), Leiria (10.8%), Braga (10.2%), Santarém (9.4%), Setúbal (8.5%), Évora (7.5%), Funchal (4.6%), Lisbon (4%), Viana do Castelo (3.8%), Porto (2.3%), and Faro (1.7%).

On the other hand, in Castelo Branco (-5.1%) and Aveiro (-4.9%), rental prices decreased between May 2025 and the same month of the previous year.

Lisbon remains the most expensive city to rent a home, at €22.4/m². Porto (€17.8/m²) and Funchal (€15.3/m²) are in second and third place, respectively. They are followed by Faro (€13.1/m²), Setúbal (€13.0/m²), Évora (€12.0/m²), Aveiro (€11.4/m²), Braga (€10.2/m²), Santarém (€9.0/m²), and Leiria (€9.0/m²).

The most affordable cities for renting a home are Castelo Branco (€6.4/m²), Viseu (€8.3/m²), and Viana do Castelo (€8.7/m²).

Rental Prices by Major Cities
Median value in May (€/m²/month)
Change between May 2025 and the same month of the previous year (%)

District Capitals (or Autonomous Regions) Price (€/m²) Annual Change (%)
Aveiro 11.4 -4.9%
Braga 10.2 10.2%
Castelo Branco 6.4 -5.1%
Évora 12.0 7.5%
Faro 13.1 1.7%
Leiria 9.0 10.8%
Lisbon 22.4 4.0%
Porto 17.8 2.3%
Santarém 9.0 9.4%
Setúbal 13.0 8.5%
Viana do Castelo 8.7 3.8%
Viseu 8.3 14.9%
Funchal 15.3 4.6%

Rental Homes More Expensive Across All Districts and Islands – Beja Is the Exception

Of the 16 districts and islands analyzed (with representative samples), rental prices increased in Coimbra (26.2%), Braga (12.4%), Évora (11.6%), Viseu (11.1%), Faro (11.1%), Setúbal (8.9%), Santarém (7.9%), Castelo Branco (7.8%), Viana do Castelo (6.3%), Leiria (5.4%), Madeira Island (4.3%), Lisbon (3.7%), Porto (2.7%), Aveiro (1.4%), and Portalegre (0.8%). Beja was the only district to record a decrease in rental prices (-2.4%).

It is worth noting that the ranking of the most expensive districts and islands to rent a home is led by Lisbon (€20.5/m²), followed by Porto (€15.8/m²), Faro (€15.2/m²), Madeira Island (€14.8/m²), Setúbal (€14.0/m²), Coimbra (€13.2/m²), Évora (€10.9/m²), Braga (€10.3/m²), Aveiro (€9.9/m²), Leiria (€9.7/m²), Beja (€9.7/m²), Viana do Castelo (€9.0/m²), and Santarém (€8.5/m²).

The most affordable rental homes are found in Portalegre (€6.6/m²), Castelo Branco (€7.5/m²), and Viseu (€7.7/m²).

Rental Prices by Districts and Islands
Median value in May (€/m²/month)
Change between May 2025 and the same month of the previous year (%)

Districts/Islands Price (€/m²) Annual Change (%)
Aveiro 9.9 1.4%
Beja 9.7 -2.4%
Braga 10.3 12.4%
Castelo Branco 7.5 7.8%
Coimbra 13.2 26.2%
Évora 10.9 11.6%
Faro 15.2 11.1%
Leiria 9.7 5.4%
Lisbon 20.5 3.7%
Portalegre 6.6 0.8%
Porto 15.8 2.7%
Santarém 8.5 7.9%
Setúbal 14.0 8.9%
Viana do Castelo 9.0 6.3%
Viseu 7.7 11.1%
Madeira (Island) 14.8 4.3%

No representative sample for Vila Real, Guarda, and Bragança
Source: idealista
Created with Datawrapper

Centre Region Leads in Rental Price Increases

In May, rental prices rose in all regions of the country. Leading the annual increases is the Centre (13.1%), followed by the Algarve (11.1%), Alentejo (6.3%), Lisbon Metropolitan Area (4.1%), Madeira Autonomous Region (4%), North (3.9%), and Azores Autonomous Region (3.8%).

The Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with €19.9/m², remains the most expensive region to rent a home, followed by the Algarve (€15.2/m²), Madeira Autonomous Region (€14.7/m²), and the North (€14.5/m²). On the opposite end of the table are the Azores Autonomous Region (€10.2/m²), Centre (€10.4/m²), and Alentejo (€10.9/m²), which are the most affordable regions.

House Rents in Portugal
Viseu, in the Centre Region
Idealista Real Estate Price Index

To create the Idealista real estate price index, the offer prices (based on built square meters) published by advertisers on Idealista are analyzed. Atypical listings and those with out-of-market prices are removed from the statistics.

The index also includes “single-family homes” and excludes listings that have been in the database for a long time without any user interaction. The final result is obtained through the median of all valid listings in each market.