According to idealista, houses for rent in Portugal remain expensive. The demand for houses to rent remains dynamic compared to supply, at a time when purchasing housing is more difficult due to high house prices and interest rates on housing loans. And the start of 2024 reflects this reality well, as the prices of houses for rent in Portugal rose 1.8% in January compared to the previous month (3% quarterly variation and 20.4% annual variation). Thus, renting a house had a median cost of 15.8 euros per square meter (euros/m2) at the end of January, according to the idealista price index.

Rents for the most expensive houses in Lisbon – and stable in Porto

Taking into account the 10 district capitals with representative samples, it appears that in January 2024 house rents rose in six large cities, with Leiria (4.3%) leading the list. This is followed by Faro (4%), Santarém (3.8%), Coimbra (3%), Lisbon (1.9%) and Setúbal (1.3%).

On the other hand, prices of houses for rent fell in Évora (-6.9%) and Aveiro (-2.8%). In Porto (0.3%) and Funchal (-0.1%), rents remained stable during this period.

Lisbon continues to be the city where it is most expensive to rent a house: 21.4 euros/m2. Porto (16.9 euros/m2) and Funchal (14.5 euros/m2) occupy second and third place, respectively. This is followed by Faro (12.9 euros/m2), Setúbal (11.8 euros/m2), Aveiro (11 euros/m2), Coimbra (11 euros/m2).

The most economical cities to rent a home are Santarém (7.7 euros/m2), Leiria (8.4 euros/m2) and Évora (10.7 euros/m2).

Where did rental prices rise the most?

Of the 18 districts and islands analysed house rents only rose in eight territories in the month of January compared to the previous one. It was in Portalegre (8.2%), on the island of Madeira (6.2%) and Braga (5%) where the price of houses for rent rose the most. And the list of rising rents continues with Santarém (4.2%), Leiria (3.1%), Lisbon (2.3%), Coimbra (1.5%) and Setúbal (0.9%).

In Porto (0.2%) Évora, Faro and Viseu (0% in the three districts) the prices of houses for rent remained stable during this period. A drop in house rents was also observed in Castelo Branco (-5.1%), São Miguel island (-4.9%), Beja (-3.1%), Vila Real (-3%), Aveiro (-2.2%) and Viana do Castelo (-1.8%).

Unsurprisingly, the ranking of the most expensive districts to rent a house is led by Lisbon (19.6 euros/m2), followed by Porto (15.1 euros/m2), Madeira Island (14.3 euros/m2), Faro (13.2 euros/m2), Setúbal (12.6 euros/m2), Évora (10.3 euros/m2), Coimbra (9.9 euros/m2), Leiria (9.5 euros/m2), Aveiro (9.1 euros/m2), Braga (9 euros/m2), Beja (8.7 euros/m2) and São Miguel island (8.7 euros/m2).

The most economical prices for renting a house are in Vila Real (6 euros/m2), Portalegre (6.6 euros/m2), Castelo Branco (7.1 euros/m2), Viseu (7.4 euros/m2 ), Santarém (7.6 euros/m2) and Viana do Castelo (8 euros/m2).

Renting a house is cheaper in the Azores

During the month of January 2024, the prices of houses for rent rose in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (4.8%), Lisbon Metropolitan Area (2.3%), Alentejo (0.9%), Center (0. 7%) and in the North (0.7%). In the opposite direction, rents for houses on the market fell in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (-4.6%). In the Algarve (0%), prices remained stable.

The Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with 18.8 euros/m2, continues to be the most expensive region to rent a house, followed by the Autonomous Region of Madeira (14.3 euros/m2), North (13.8 euros/m2) and Algarve (13.2 euros/m2). However, the Autonomous Region of the Azores (8.5 euros/m2), the Center (9 euros/m2) and Alentejo (9.8 euros/m2) are the cheapest regions in the market to rent.