The Portuguese’s rate of effort has increased in the past four years. Buying a home requires 53% of the income – Executive Summary

Whether to buy or rent a home, the percentage of household income needed to apply has increased in the past four years in all Portuguese provincial capitals.

According to a study by Idealista that analyzed effort rates for the first quarter of 2019 and 2023 to buy and rent a T2 apartment, the effort required to rent a house in Portugal increased by two percentage points (pp), from 69% in the first quarter of 2019 to 71% in the first quarter of 2023.

In terms of purchases, the national effort rate has increased by 23 points, from 30% to 53% since 2019.

In terms of purchases, the percentage of income that families must set aside to buy a home has risen in all provincial capitals, with the exception of Portalegre, which has risen from 15% to 13%. Where the effort rate increased was Funchal, going from 38% to 78%, an increase of 40 pg

At the beginning of 2023, the city with the highest rate of effort to buy a home was Funchal (78%), followed by Faro (73%), Lisbon (72%), Porto (63%), Aveiro (58%), Ponta Delgada (50%) ), Braga (46%), Viana do Castelo (44%) and Évora (43%).

On the other hand, the provincial capitals with an average effort rate of less than the recommended 33% are Vila Real (30%), Santarem (23%), Bragança (20%), Beja (20%), Castelo Branco (16%) and Portalegre ( 13%) and Guarda (13%).

In terms of rents, Faro has been where the rate of effort to rent a home has increased over the past four years, rising from 45% in the first quarter of 2019 to 68% in the same period of 2023.

The largest increases were recorded in Porto (20 p.), Funchal (19 p.), Viana do Castelo (17 p.), but Lisbon remains the city that requires the most effort on the part of families to rent a home, which takes 82% of your earnings in the first quarter of 2023.

On the other hand, the rate of rental effort is lower in Castelo Branco (34%), Coimbra (40%), Santarem (41%), Leiria (43%) and Viseu (43%). It should be noted that all provincial capitals have voltage ratings higher than the recommended, 33%.