Portugal's rents rise more than 9% in first quarter despite economic slowdown

Housing rents in Portugal rose 9% in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago despite the economic slowdown, official data showed on Tuesday. The country is going through a housing crisis, with soaring prices of houses and rents due to the lack of supply and huge demand, especially in the capital Lisbon and second largest city Porto.

Housing rents in Portugal rose 9% in the first quarter compared to the same period a year ago despite the economic slowdown, official data showed on Tuesday.

The country is going through a housing crisis, with soaring prices of houses and rents due to the lack of supply and huge demand, especially in the capital Lisbon and second largest city Porto. Expensive rents led to successive protests by Portuguese, who have been hit hard by rampant inflation, high interest rates and low wages. The National Statistics Institute, or INE, said the new rents on houses and apartments jumped 9.4% year-on-year to a median of 6.74 euros($7.38) per square meter, though slightly lower than the 6.94 euros registered in the fourth quarter of 2022. In the greater Lisbon capital region, rents increased 20.6% year-on-year to 10.26 euros per square meter, the highest in the country. In tourism areas such as Algarve and Madeira Island, median prices were respectively 7.8 euros and 7.73 euros per square meter, INE said. The Bank of Portugal sees the economy growing 2.5% this year with an EU-harmonised annual inflation of 5.2%. Portugal is one of Western Europe's poorest countries, with government data showing more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros ($1,055) per month last year.