Nearly 50,000 homes were sold in the fourth quarter of 2020, a historic quarterly record in Portugal. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of homes sold in 2020 was 171,800, 5.3% less than in the previous year. While this was the first decrease in the number of housing transactions registered in Portugal since 2012, it is nonetheless the third best year since 2009.
“In January and February, still in the pre-pandemic period, there were year-on-year increases of 9.4% and 3.5%, respectively, in the number of transactions. There followed a period, from March to October, when negative year-on-year rates of variation were observed, with greater amplitudes in the 2nd quarter (-21.6%) as a result of the measures to restrict circulation and economic activity then adopted. Subsequently, in November and December, there were year-on-year increases of 4.0% and 12.6%, respectively, in the number of sales ”, concludes INE.
New Home Sales vs Existing Home Sales: 15% vs 85%
The repartition between new home sales and existing home sales is very stable in Portugal year over year: 15% of new homes, for 85% of existing home sales. In numbers, that is 145,181 existing homes sold, and 26,619 new homes.
Market Size of the Portuguese Residential Real Estate Market: €26.2 billion
Another way to look at the market is to consider how many billion euros it represents in transactions each year. Two years ago, we had estimated the market to weigh 24 billion euros (see article). Fast forward to 2020, and the market weighs 26.2 billion euros (INE). That’s an increase of 2.4% compared to the previous year. That shows an increase in property prices, as number of properties sold decreased. Indeed, doing the maths, that points towards an average transaction at €151,000.
“20.8 billion euros correspond to sales of existing homes (0.7% change compared to 2019) and 5.4 billion euros to new homes (9.3% change compared to to 2019)”.
“Vendem-se 470 casas por dia” is Portuguese for 470 houses are sold per day
Sources: foreignbuyerswatch, Idealista, INE