According to Idealista, the residential market in Portugal has evolved significantly over the last decade, although underlying problems remain (and are even worsening), such as the difficulty in accessing housing. However, despite the challenges also marked by high interest rates and house prices, the Portuguese market has been “expanding” over the last 10 years, with the number of houses sold doubling and the number of new mortgages skyrocketing .


Over the last ten years, the number of bank appraisals, new housing loans and the number of homes sold “have shown a growth trend, reflecting an expansion of the real estate market”, concludes the National Statistics Institute (INE) in a note published on 26 June.


This is how these indicators evolved between the first quarter of 2014 and the same period of 2024:


Home sales

The number of housing transactions more than doubled (+114.6%), rising from around 15,000 in the first quarter of 2014 to more than 33,000 in the first three months of this year.


Bank appraisals

The number of bank appraisals grew by 330.7%. In the first quarter of 2014, 7,087 bank assessments were carried out, and in the first three months of 2024, this number rose to 30,523. “This increase can be attributed to several factors, such as the increase in real estate demand and the evolution of interest rates, which encouraged bank financing of property acquisitions until mid-2022”, explains INE.


New housing loans

The number of new home loans rose 920.8% in ten years. In the first three months of 2014, the number of new housing loans was 2,811 and in the first quarter of 2024, it was 28,694.


New mortgage credit contracts

“As would be expected, in parallel with the growth in bank assessments, there was also a very significant increase in the number of new mortgage credit contracts”, the institute begins by explaining. However, it clarifies that “the number of mortgage loans is generally lower than the number of bank appraisals in each period, as not all appraisals are converted into credit granting, and there are appraisals associated with the renegotiation of credits. Occasionally, there may be a greater number of credit contracts than evaluations, essentially due to the time lag between the moment of evaluation and the effective start date of the credit", shares idealista.