Among a total of 19 European countries surveyed in a study by the ERA Group regarding the real estate market outlook for 2024 and the outlook for 2025, Portugal is the country where the largest increase in transactions is expected this year: over 10%, according to a report by idealista.

The study, called the ERA Europe Market Survey 2024/2025, was conducted based on the dynamism observed in the real estate market and the improved financing conditions available. Based on data from the INE (National Statistics Institute) for the first quarter of this year, which reveals a 24.9% increase in transactions compared to the same period last year.

Portugal saw the fourth-highest transaction growth in the sector in 2024, a 14.5% increase, surpassed only by Turkey (20%), the Czech Republic (43%), and Luxembourg (48%). Conversely, the countries that saw the biggest drop in transactions last year, largely due to the supply shortage that is expected to persist this year, were France, Austria, and Ireland.

Another conclusion of the study refers to the values per square meter (m2) in the 19 countries surveyed, where it was concluded that Portugal is well below the average (3,558 euros/m2), with a value of 1,777 euros/m2 in 2024. The markets with the highest values in Europe are Switzerland (11,400 euros/m2), Luxembourg (8,488 euros/m2), the Netherlands (4,445 euros/m2), Austria (3,560 euros/m2), and France (3,217 euros/m2).

With the overwhelming majority of the European Union (EU) population residing in urban areas, this trend has exerted systematic pressure on housing prices, as can be seen in another conclusion of the study, which points to Lisbon as part of this trend, with prices per square meter of €4,340, in line with Prague (€4,555/m2) and Vienna (€4,184/m2), and more expensive than cities like Rome (€3,200/m2), Madrid (€3,805/m2), or Brussels (€3,337/m2).

However, significantly different from the cities mentioned above are Bern (€15,000/m2), Luxembourg (€12,462/m2), and Paris (€9,557/m2), which are the most expensive cities in the EU.