According to the latest data from Eurostat, almost every European Union (EU) country has seen home prices escalate during this period, while rents have also increased, but to a lesser extent.

Eurostat's analysis shows that the price of houses in the EU increased by 39 percent between 2010 and the third quarter of 2021. And houses to rent also saw a rise of 16 percent, 23 percentage points less than houses to buy. This means that the value of homes for sale increased more than rents over this period.

House prices climbed in 23 European countries in the period under observation, while in five countries house prices more than doubled: Estonia (+141 percent), Hungary (+118 percent), Luxembourg (+117 percent), Latvia (+106 percent) and Austria (+104 percent). There were also four countries that evolved in counter-cycle, having registered reductions in housing values. They are: Greece (-28 percent), Italy (-12 percent), Cyprus (-6 percent) and Spain (-0.5 percent), highlighted by Eurostat.

In the case of rental homes, the reality is slightly different: prices have increased in 25 EU countries and decreased in just two in the last decade. The biggest jumps were observed in Estonia (+162 percent), Lithuania (+111 percent) and Ireland (+68 percent). And declines were recorded only in Greece (-25 percent) and Cyprus (-3 percent).

The situation in Portugal

Between 2010 and the third quarter of 2021, homes to buy were 56.8 percent more expensive in Portugal, placing the country in 11th position in the table. Although the pace of price rises has slowed down slightly during the pandemic, the reality is that it jumped year-on-year between July and September by +9.9 percent, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Houses for rent are also more expensive in the country, up by 25 percent compared to 2010. The most recent data from INE shows that the median rent from new leases grew by 7.4 percent in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year to €6.08 per square metre.