A key event shaping the market is the release of a statistical report by the real estate portal idealista for the first quarter of 2026, which found that only one in three homes advertised for sale nationwide is priced below €300,000.

This segment is the maximum financial burden for most resident households, even with credit. Its availability shrank by 31% in one year, leaving fewer than 40,000 homes in this price range nationwide.

Affected all price ranges

The contraction in residential supply affected all price ranges, but the impact was more pronounced in the lower ranges. In total, the volume of apartments advertised on the national market fell by 19% in 12 months, settling slightly above 100,000 properties at the start of the year.

While the stock of homes up to €300,000 fell by almost a third, the supply below €210,000 dropped by more than half. In contrast, the luxury segment was more resilient.

Homes valued between €300,000 and €600,000 dropped by 11% this year, bringing the total to about 47,000 apartments. The price bracket above €600,000 decreased by only 8%, keeping a stock of almost 22,000 properties.

This asymmetrical dynamic reversed market dynamics and pushed prices to record levels. High production costs, including labour and construction materials, also drove this. Last year, affordable prices accounted for 42% of the stock; this share is now 36%.

Intermediate range

Conversely, the largest share of housing supply is currently in the intermediate range between €300,000 and €600,000, accounting for 44% of the total market, while apartments costing more than €600,000 continue to hold a significant share, representing a fifth of the available stock.

To address this barrier, the government introduced a fiscal package on 20 May, featuring exemptions from IMT (Property Transfer Tax) and Stamp Duty for young people up to 35 years old, which the market is already leveraging.

Reduced VAT on construction

Furthermore, the sector anticipates the July implementation of a reduced VAT rate of 6% for construction and rehabilitation, paired with licensing simplification through the reformed Legal Regime for Urbanisation and Building (RJUE).

The national diagnosis hides profoundly disparate realities across the country's urban centres. Properties below €300,000 constitute at least half of the stock in 12 of the 20 district capitals analysed. The dominance of affordable housing is overwhelming in inland and northern river cities, such as Bragança, where it represents 98% of the total stock, Beja, with 86%, and Guarda, with 82%.

In Porto, however, apartments for sale priced up to €300,000 account for only a third of the local market. In Porto, the largest share is in the mid-price range, accounting for 45% of the total, while the segment above €600,000 accounts for a quarter of the city's entire supply.

Opposite extremes

Lisbon, Funchal, and Faro appear at the opposite extreme as the capitals with the least accessible choice, representing 7%, 3%, and 14% of the total available stock, respectively.

While in Funchal and Faro, most of the supply is in the mid-price range.

In Lisbon, however, 49% of the market is above €600,000, showing extreme exclusivity. Concentrated in the lower-price segments, with apartments valued between €90,000 and €180,000 registering the highest density in the market, exceeding an average of 10 contacts per advertisement in the first quarter. This phenomenon is amplified by the impact of the "IMT Jovem" program, which grants total or partial tax exemption.

Demand also surged over 30% in the intermediate segment between €300,000 and €600,000, driven by job stability and affordable mortgage interest rates at the start of the year, before Euribor rates began to rise amid geopolitical instability in the Middle East.

Direct consequence

As a direct consequence, the cheapest houses disappear from the market first. Properties up to €300,000 stay active for only 80 days on the idealista portal. In contrast, a property positioned in the luxury segment, above €600,000, takes an average of 119 days to find a buyer nationwide.

Although the Government's economic measures aim to reverse the trend, investors and developers warn that the effects on new construction will take time. Families now face a lack of choice, not just high prices.