Housing sales in Portugal decreased by 5.4%: Transactions fell in Lisboa and Porto, new houses were separated

The first half of 2026 in the Portuguese housing market was slower after last year's strong performance.

According to Savills Portugal's new Spotlight Residential Market report, housing sales in the country decreased by 5.4% in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year.

However, the picture is not the same in all segments.

Particularly new homes are diverging from the second-hand market around Lisboa and Porto.

Sales fell, but are above the average of the last three years

Although the number of transactions across the country decreased by 5.4% on an annual basis, the sales volume in the first half of 2026 remained 7.5% higher than the first half average of the previous three years.

For this reason, Savills, which prepared the report, interprets the current situation as a normalization after a strong 2025 rather than a sharp contraction of the market.

This assessment is Savills' market analysis; Not to be confused with official housing statistics.

Sales in Lisbon fell 7.1%

In the Greater Lisbon area, 22,663 houses were sold in the first half of the year.

This represents a 7.1% decrease compared to the same period last year.

In the Porto region, the decline was even higher: sales fell by 9% to 12,483.

Despite this, the transaction volume of both regions remained above the first half averages of the last three years.

New housing went in the opposite direction in Lisbon

While overall sales are declining, the new housing segment paints a different picture.

New home sales in Grande Lisboa increased by 6.6% to 3,294 output.

This is the highest level in the series for the first half periods, according to Savills data.

Second-hand housing transactions in the same region decreased by 9.1%.

While there was an 11% increase in new home sales in Grande Porto, the second-hand market shrank by 16%.

Sales increased by 39% in Lisbon's upper segment

There is a sharper divide in the high-priced housing segment in the municipality of Lisbon.

According to the report, sales in the upper segment increased by 39.2% in the first six months, reaching 1,709 houses.

In the same period, available supply decreased by 18.7%.

The average price for new upper segment residences was calculated as 7,692 euros per square meter.

Housing loans accelerated again

The report also includes a remarkable development on the financing side.

It is stated that the financing provided by banks for housing purchases this year reached 16 billion euros, which is a 19% increase on an annual basis.

The average interest rate in new contracts is 2.93%.

At the same time, the annual increase in construction costs increased to 6.9% in May.

Therefore, although there is a slowdown in sales volumes, activity in loans, new housing and upper segment continues.

Resources

Idealista News — Cátia Colaço, 22 September 2026

https://www.idealista.pt/news/imobiliario/habitacao/2026/09/22/77765-vendas-de-casas-recuam-5-4-no-1o-semestre-e-habitacao-nova-ganha-terreno