April Monthly Barometer

Monthly variation: April vs March 2020

Sales segment

Despite the impact of Coronavirus, real estate prices continue to rise in Portugal. In April 2020, the average announced sale price on the Imovirtual website was €357.733, up 1.4% on the previous month.

In April, the district that showed the biggest increase in percentage price variation when compared to March was Faro with a 3.8% increase, now the second most expensive district in Portugal with an average sale price of €468.146. Lisbon remains the most expensive region, where the average price to buy a property was around €574.107.  

Lisbon and Madeira, showed little growth in percentage terms (0.5%) when comparing these two months of 2020. The average cost of a property in Madeira was €337.487 in April 2020.

The district of Oporto saw an increase in the monthly percentage variation of 1.6%, with a property costing an average of €320.259 in April, around €5,000 more than in the previous month.

The inland districts of Castelo Branco, Guarda and Beja continue to be the lowest cost options for buying a property, where the average prices advertised are €120.966, €124.195 and €126.903 respectively. Guarda was the district with the highest percentage drop -3% (€124.195), followed by Portalegre which registered a decrease of 2.5% (€133.388).

Rental segment

Even though Portugal has seen an increase in announced prices of properties for sale this year, rental prices have been falling since 2019, with several districts falling in April 2020.

In Portugal, the average price of properties advertised on the Imovirtual in the rental segment fell 1.1% from €1.195 in March to €1.182 in April.

Despite the general decrease in the average rental price, Beja suffered the highest percentage growth in April with 26.4%, compared to March the rents of the properties announced increased by around 100 euros.

Lisbon continued to be the most expensive district to rent a property, however, it also suffered a decrease in the average announced price of -1.5% from €1.533 in March to €1.510 in April.

The second most populated district in the country, Oporto, was also the second most expensive district to rent a property, with an announced price of around 1.065 euros. Like Lisbon, Oporto registered a decrease of -4.5% in the average price in the rental segment. Madeira was one of the districts with the highest average rental price (893 euros), however, it suffered a slight decrease of -0.5%.

The districts with the lowest average rental prices announced in April were Guarda, Portalegre and Bragança with average values of 348€, 384€ and 401€  respectively. Vila Real was also a district with very affordable prices for renting a property and in comparison to the previous month, it was the district that registered the highest percentage drop of 5%.

Annual Variation: April 2019 vs April 2020

For a better analysis of the evolution of the average prices, it is important to compare two similar periods in consecutive years with a quite distinct social reality to understand the impact felt.

Sales segment

Comparing the average prices announced in April 2020 with the same period of the previous year, there was an increase from €323.207 to €357.733, with a percentage change of 10.7%. 

Since April 2019, the prices of properties for sale continue to rise, reaching this month the highest value announced on our Portal.

The district with the highest percentage variation was Setúbal (18.5%), with the average price rising from €248,394 in the same period of the previous year to €294.416 in April 2020.

The two districts with the highest percentage drop in average prices were Portalegre and Guarda, with -22.3% and -10.7%, which are among the districts with the lowest prices at the level of sales. Beja, Bragança, Leiria and Santarém showed a percentage decrease in average prices compared to the same period in 2019, however, it is not as significant as the previous districts mentioned.

Lisbon, Faro and Madeira, similarly to the average prices in April 2019, are still the most expensive destinations to buy a property. They also recorded the biggest percentage increases in the period: 12% in Lisbon (from 511,613 to 574,107), 10.6% in Madeira (from 305,260 to 337,487) and 10% in Faro (425,958 to 468,146).

Rental segment

In the rental segment, rental prices have decreased since 2019, with a sharp percentage decrease of -14.2% compared to the average prices announced in April 2020 with the same period of the previous year

The districts that registered the biggest percentage drop were Guarda with -40%, Bragança with -24.3% and Faro with -24.1%.

On the other hand, Portalegre registered the highest percentage increase of 27.6% in the average price announced, increasing the average monthly rent from 301€ to 384€ in April 2020. Beja and Évora showed an increase in average prices, even so the annual variation is not as significant as the district of Portalegre, 4.6% increase in Beja and 6% in Évora.

Tourist destinations such as Faro, Madeira and Lisbon have seen a drop in property rental prices, making them more affordable for short-term compared to April 2019. The future of property rental is uncertain, but if property prices remain at these values, there may be a higher quality of life for Portuguese tenants, as well as a major boost for tourism in 2021, after travel restrictions are lifted.

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