New rental contracts were 10.5% more expensive in the third quarter of this year, totalling a national average of 7.25 euros per square meter, according to provisional data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). However, this is a drop compared to the previous quarter (-0.3%).

Between July and September, there were 23,717 new rental contracts for family accommodation in Portugal, which represents a drop of 2% compared to those registered in the same period of 2022. Even so, in the chain comparison (compared to the second quarter) it was verified that an increase of 14.3%.

In the third quarter of this year, the median rent rose 10.5% to 7.25 euros per square meter, compared to the same period last year. However, it is “lower than the year-on-year variation recorded in the second quarter of 2023 (+11%)” and also decreases slightly compared to the previous quarter (-0.3%).

Among the 25 sub-regions analysed, 13 saw the median value of rents compared to the previous quarter, with INE highlighting “Alentejo Litoral (+12.7%), Alentejo Central (+12.1%), Baixo Alentejo ( +11.6%) and Cávado (+11.3%)”. In turn, the biggest drops were recorded in Terras de Trás-os-Montes (-11.4%) and Alto Alentejo (-10.2%).

However, the Lisbon Metropolitan Area continues to be the most expensive sub-region, with the median rent value standing at 11.40 euros per square meter, which represents an increase of 12.5%. Next comes the Autonomous Region of Madeira (8.79 euros/m2; +16.4%), Porto Metropolitan Area (8.22 euros/square meter; +12.4%) and Alentejo Litoral (7.47 euros/square meter; +15.3%). The exception was the Algarve sub-region (8.03 euros/square meter; +7.4%).