In the month in question, around six households were sold for every thousand classic family dwellings in the country, a value that compares with 6.15 in March 2019 and 6.6 in February 2020, according to an INE highlight released today.

With the exception of the metropolitan area of ??Lisbon and the Algarve, the remaining regions had numbers below the national average, with the Centre (4.49) and Alentejo (4.70) standing out.

However, despite the metropolitan area of ??Lisbon and the Algarve having a sales value per thousand classic family dwellings above the national reference, in March, there was a respective decrease of 2.1 percent and 0.9 percent, in comparison with the same period last year.

In addition, the Centre (-3.7 percent) and the North (-3.3 percent) also experienced, in March, a decrease in the number of sales compared to the same period last year.

In March, for every thousand classic family dwellings, 2.2 new lease agreements were registered.

However, in the period in question, with the exception of the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and the Algarve, the remaining NUTS II regions (North, Centre, Lisbon, Alentejo, Algarve, Azores and Madeira) registered a number of new lease agreements below the national reference .

“In 14 of the 25 Portuguese NUTS III sub-regions, the number of sales of family housing in March 2020 was lower compared to the same period last year. Of this group, the sub-regions of Baixo Alentejo (0.76) and Beiras and Serra da Estrela (0.85) stood out, for presenting the lowest ratios”, revealed the INE.