Portugal is considered to be the third country in the world where it is most difficult to buy a house in a study that analyses the markets of 56 countries.

Measuring the price of houses (nominal) over disposable income per capita, MoneyTransfers concluded that, in the second quarter of 2023, Portugal was considered the third country in the world where access to housing is most difficult, with a ratio of 169%. This means that the rise in house prices has exceeded income growth by 69% since 2015. Worse than Portugal is Turkey (with an index of 197%) and Iceland (173%).

“Portugal is facing a serious real estate crisis, partly due to the increase in property purchases by foreigners, but also due to the lack of new affordable homes under construction”, highlights the MoneyTransfers study.

The same study cited by idealista also highlights countries where access to housing is more affordable, that is, where income levels grow faster than house prices. “On a global basis, the average house price increased by 3.0% in the last 12 months until the second quarter of 2023. And 54 of the 56 countries tracked by the index continue to register growth. But this will not be an obstacle to access to housing in what are the most affordable markets in the world", they explain.

But where is it easiest to buy a house globally? According to the same study, it is in Brazil (66%), followed by Saudi Arabia (74%), Finland (91%), South Africa (92%) and Italy (92%).