For those looking for a room, there is good and bad news. The supply of this type of accommodation has increased by 57% in one year, but so have prices, according to an analysis published by idealista.

The median rent for a room is now around 450 euros per month.

Analysing the data relating to the supply of rooms by city, it can be seen that the increase in stock was quite sharp in the last year, with most of the increase being over 25%. The increase was greatest in Castelo Branco (112%), followed by Lisbon and Porto (76% in both cities), Viseu (51%), Coimbra (40%), Santarém (29%), Vila Real (24%), Braga (5%), Viana do Castelo (3%) and Leiria (1%). Of the cities taken into account, the publication of advertisements for rooms to rent decreased in Funchal (-73%), followed by Évora (-36%), Setúbal (-15%), Faro (-14%), Aveiro (-11%) and Guarda (-5%).

Despite the increase in stock, the prices of rooms to rent increased in all the cities analysed. It was in Funchal, in Madeira, that prices increased the most, with rooms being 60% more expensive than a year ago. Next come Faro (33%), Aveiro (29%), Viseu (25%), Setúbal (22%), Évora (20%), Guarda (18%), Porto (17%), Braga (17%), Leiria (12%) and Castelo Branco (10%). With price increases of less than 10%, there are Santarém (9%), Viana do Castelo (8%), Coimbra (7%), Lisbon (6%) and Vila Real (2%).

Lisbon continues to be the city with the most expensive rooms in Portugal, where prices average around 550 euros per month, followed by Porto (445 euros per month), Funchal (400 euros per month), Faro (400 euros per month), Setúbal (365 euros per month), Aveiro (360 euros per month), Braga (350 euros per month), Évora (335 euros per month), Viana do Castelo (325 euros per month), Coimbra (300 euros per month) and Santarém (300 euros per month).

On the other hand, of the entire sample analysed, the cheapest cities to rent a room are Guarda (177 euros per month), Castelo Branco (222 euros per month), Vila Real (235 euros/month), Viseu (250 euros per month) and Leiria (280 euros per month).

Not just for students

The data published in this report shows that renting a room is not just a housing option for students, but is also becoming the option chosen by young people in their first years in the job market and in some cases even later.

The current reality of the Portuguese rental market in large cities makes it difficult for many single or separated people to afford the cost of a house, for example, making renting a room the most advantageous housing option.

On the other hand, sharing a house continues to be an incentive for many young people who want to be independent and leave their parents' home, a trend that is expected to increase in the coming years, taking into account not only the need for greater mobility but also the prices of houses to buy, the cost of living and the value of interest rates applied to mortgages.