The latest data from idealista, covering the end of 2025, shows that higher prices in Lisbon and Porto are pushing people to look for homes in the outskirts. This shift has also caused rents to rise in those neighbouring towns.

Rent below €1,000

Still, there are some opportunities: in 20 of the 50 most popular municipalities, the median rent is under €1,000 per month. However, this does not include Greater Lisbon or the Algarve, where all the municipalities studied have rents above this mark.

Leading the list of municipalities with the most affordable rents and high demand is Covilhã, in the district of Castelo Branco, with a median rent of €568. Next are Bragança (€619) and Castelo Branco (€620). In the north of the country, although the pressure is high, Valongo and Amarante stand out as the only survivors in the Porto district with median rents below €1,000 (€993 and €836, respectively), occupying prominent positions in the demand ranking.

Other regional centres, such as Santarém (€933), Leiria (€920) and Évora (€988), show that it is possible to reconcile market interest with values ​​more compatible with national average salaries.

Lisbon

At the opposite extreme, the outskirts of Lisbon present themselves as a belt of high costs. Municipalities such as Odivelas, Amadora, and Barreiro lead the ranking in demand, but rents already vary between €1,694 in Oeiras and €1,060 in Moita.

Algarve

In the Algarve, the scenario is similar, with Faro registering a median rent of €1,710, which is affecting neighbouring municipalities such as Albufeira and Olhão, where values already exceed €1,200. Curiously, the municipality of Lisbon has dropped to 48th place in terms of demand, signalling that the average price of €1,722 is driving interested parties to areas with a more balanced cost of living.

Migration to medium-sized cities

This migration of demand to medium-sized cities in the interior and to the district limits reflects families' attempts to maintain proximity to metropolitan services without completely compromising their budgets.

With Funchal emerging as the most expensive municipality among the most sought-after (€1,956), the rental market in 2026 confirms a trend of geographical dispersion, where municipalities such as Torres Novas, Oliveira de Azeméis and Marinha Grande become the new protagonists for those seeking housing at more affordable prices.