New build houses are 44% costlier than old ones
The real estate market in Lisbon continues to stand out from the rest, making the capital the most expensive place to buy a house in Portugal, a report has indicated.
According to news portal ECO, Lisbon continues to stand out in the property market when it comes to the exponential increase in house prices. The report suggests that the difference between the cost of a new house and an existing house, among the most populous municipalities with 100,000 inhabitants, in the 12 months until the end of Q2 2022, is the biggest in the country's capital.
The difference can reach as high as forty-four percent, if the median price of 5,197 euros/m2 new housing is taken into account, compared to the 3,587 euros/m2 of the older houses. In other words, those who buy a new house in Lisbon risk paying 1,610 euros/m2 more than if they bought an existing house, an amount higher than the median price of accommodation in the country as a whole, which stood at 1,494 euros/m2 in the same quarter.
The study also reflects the trend of new houses being more expensive than existing ones is not confined to Lisbon alone but prevalent in the 24 most populous municipalities of the capital. However, it is pertinent to note the difference is much lower in the other municipalities including in the the premier holiday destination of the Lisbon coastline - Cascais, which is considered otherwise, as the second most expensive locality after Lisbon. At the other extreme is Vila Nova de Famalicão, where this difference was smaller, not exceeding 71 euros/m2.
Meantime, in Q2 2022 according to the National Statistics Institute (INE), median house price of dwellings sales in Portugal was 1 494 €/m2, representing a YoY growth rate of +17.8 percent. There was an increase in median house prices compared to the same period in the previous year, in all the 25 NUTS 3/Inter-municipality Entities and autonomous regions of the country.
Quarterly results: NUTS 3/Inter-municipality Entities and autonomous regions. Source: National Statistics Institute (INE)
The two sub-regions with the highest median house prices - Algarve (2 258 €/m2) and the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (2 076 €/m2) - also had the highest values in both categories of purchaser's tax residence: national territory (respectively, 2 222 €/m2 and 2 050 €/m2) and foreign (2 734 €/m2 and 3 782 €/m2).
In addition to these, INE pointed out that three other Councils in Lisbon - Parque das Nações (4,525 euros/m2), Campo de Ourique (4,366 euros/m2) and Alvalade (4,103 euros/m2) recorded a median price higher than the 3,704 euros/m2 registered in the municipality as a whole.
While the new houses may be more expensive than equivalently sized older properties, however it is imperative to note that they new houses come with advantages which may work to mitigate this price difference over time. A newer, more energy efficient home can benefit from lower utility bills and won’t require new homeowners to spend thousands of euros on upgrading not only energy efficiency to modern standards but also new owners won’t have to spend on other related statutory requirement related to Health & Safety and other industry regulations.
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