Latest news and stories about housing market in property in Portugal for expats and residents.
Foreign property buyers in Lisbon paid 47 percent more on average for homes than domestic buyers, according to recent real estate transaction data. Median home prices across the capital rose 18.4 percent year-on-year despite a decrease in overall sales volumes. Greater Lisbon remains the most expensive real estate market in Portugal, reaching an average of €4,030 per square metre.
Chega leader André Ventura announced that his party will vote against the government's proposed rental bill, warning it would cause sharp rent increases and evictions. Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda) and Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Português or PCP) leaders criticized the move, accusing Chega of reversing its position to exploit recent street demonstrations. Ventura instead proposed an emergency legislative package centered on Personal Income Tax (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares or IRS) relief for housing expenses.
André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.
His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.
Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.
The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.
The European Commission is set to introduce a proposal for common rules allowing member states to better regulate short-term accommodation platforms like Airbnb. The initiative aims to alleviate housing pressure in high-demand areas across the European Union.
The state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) recorded a profit of 913 million euros in the first half of 2026, a 2.2% increase compared to the same period last year. CEO Paulo Macedo noted that the bank has provided 2.5 billion euros in loans to young people under the state guarantee scheme since January 2025. Additionally, home loan approvals saw a significant year-on-year increase of 42%.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos is Portugal’s largest state-owned bank and a major retail and corporate lender. In 2025 it posted a 10% profit increase — helped by selling its stake in Águas de Portugal — and will pay a €1.25 billion dividend to the State, which can affect public finances and confidence in the banking sector.
Miguel Maya, CEO of Banco Comercial Português (BCP), expressed support for a potential move by the Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal or BdP) to lower the debt-to-income ratio for housing loans. The measure aims to ensure families maintain financial stability and a safety buffer amidst current economic unpredictability.
Mário José Gomes de Freitas Centeno (born 1966) is Portugal's central bank governor and one of the country's most internationally recognized economic figures. As Finance Minister under António Costa's first PS government, he became known as "Cristiano Ronaldo of European finance" for turning Portugal's deficit into a surplus while reversing austerity.
He was elected president of the Eurogroup (the informal body of euro area finance ministers) in 2018 — the first Portuguese to hold the role. Since becoming Governor of Banco de Portugal in 2020, he sits on the ECB's Governing Council and oversees Portuguese banking supervision and financial stability.
BPI currently holds 30% of the public guarantees issued under a government program that allows young people up to age 35 to secure 100% financing for their first home. The government authorized 18 credit institutions to participate in this protocol, which officially began in December 2024.
