There are more and more families renting a house in Portugal, but supply remains scarce in this market. That is why we have seen the increase in house rents month after month. According to a report by idealista, if we look at the five-year horizon, the evolution is even more expressive: housing rents increased by 49% between 2017 and 2022, standing at 6.52 euros per square meter (euros/m2) in the last 12 months ending in December.

Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), reveals that house rents in Portugal are in an upward cycle of evolution: the median value of rent per square metre of new lease contracts rose from 4 .39 euros/m2 in the second half of 2017 (last 12 months) to 6.52 euros/m2 in the same period of 2022 (+49%).

In other words, renting an apartment with an average floor area in Portugal of 112.4 m2 (according to the 2021 Census) costs 733 euros per month, an amount almost 240 euros higher than that registered in 2017 for an apartment with the same area (494 euros /month). In absolute terms, it was in Cascais, Oeiras and Almada where house rents rose the most, according to calculations by Jornal de Notícias based on data from INE.