Portugal was the 3rd country in the EU where house prices rose the most at the end of 2024
In the fourth quarter of last year, house prices in Portugal rose by 3% compared to the previous three months. This was the third highest increase of any European Union country.
Portugal was the third country in the European Union (EU) where house prices rose the most in the last three months of 2024. Between October and December, compared to the previous quarter, the increase was 3%. Seven tenths less than in the previous three months, but above the average growth recorded in the EU bloc (+0.8%) and the Eurozone (+0.6%).
According to the data published this Tuesday by Eurostat, also in the year-on-year comparison, i.e. compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, Portugal recorded the third highest increase in house prices (+11.6%), only behind Bulgaria (+18.3%) and Hungary (+13.0%), while in the euro area and the EU they grew by 2.7% and 3.9% respectively.
Among the member states for which data is available, only France and Finland recorded an annual decrease in house prices in the fourth quarter of 2024, of 1.9% each, and 24 others recorded a year-on-year increase.
Compared to the previous quarter, prices fell in six EU countries — Estonia (-0.7%), France (-1.0%), Cyprus (-1.0%), Latvia (-0.2%), Austria (-0.6%) and Sweden (-0.3%) –, remained stable in two (Malta and Finland) and rose in 18. The biggest increases, ahead of Portugal, were in Slovakia (+3.6%) and Slovenia (+3.1%).
Prices have soared by 120% in Portugal since 2010
House prices in Portugal increased by 120% between 2010 and 2024, while rents rose by 45% over the same period, according to Eurostat. These figures are above the average growth in the EU bloc, which was 55.4% for house prices and 26.7% for rents.
“While rents have risen steadily, house prices have followed a more variable pattern, showing an impressive increase between the 1st quarter of 2015 and the 3rd quarter of 2022, followed by a small fall and stabilisation, before rising again in 2024”, says the statistical office.
In 14 years, house prices increased more than rents in 21 of the EU countries, more than tripling in Hungary (+234%) and Estonia (+228%) and more than doubling in Lithuania (+187%), Latvia (+153%), the Czech Republic (+142%), Bulgaria (+115%), Austria (+112%) and Luxembourg (+105%). Italy was the only country where house prices fell during this period (-4%).
Meanwhile, rents have risen in 26 EU member states since 2010, with the biggest increases in Estonia (+212%), Lithuania (+175%) and Hungary (+114%). Greece was the only country where rental prices fell (-13%).
