In the third quarter of this year, the cost of new rental contracts increased by 10.7%, reaching a national average of 8 euros per square meter (€/m2), according to provisional data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The increase in rent was particularly notable in the 24 municipalities with populations over 100,000, with Funchal seeing the highest annual rise at 25.9%. Lisbon had the highest median rent at 16.18 €/m2, although its annual increase of 3.0% was lower than the national average of 10.7%.
However, several regions experienced a decrease in median rents compared to the same quarter last year, including Terras de Trás-os-Montes (-7.7%), Central Alentejo (-3.4%), the Autonomous Region of the Azores (-3%), and Bahia (-1.8%).
The highest rental prices were found in Greater Lisbon (13.53 €/m2), followed by the Autonomous Region of Madeira (10.66 €/m2), the Setúbal Peninsula (10.18 €/m2), the Porto Metropolitan Area (9.09 €/m2), Alentejo Litoral (8.82 €/m2), and the Algarve (8.81 €/m2).
From July to September, a total of 23,684 new rental contracts were signed in Portugal, marking a 5% decrease from the 24,921 contracts recorded during the same period in 2023.
INE also noted that ten of the 24 municipalities with populations over 100,000 saw a higher-than-national average increase in new contracts. Notable among these were Barcelos (9.7%), Seixal (7.6%), and Vila Nova de Famalicão (4.6%), all of which had significant increases in new rental agreements.
