In all Portuguese regions, considerably less housing is built today than at the turn of the century. However, the pace of construction is not uniform across the territory, with considerable differences between regions and municipalities. Over the past two years, in 2024 and 2025, the North led with 939 homes licensed per 100,000 inhabitants, almost double that of Greater Lisbon (496). Madeira (786) and the Algarve (710) also showed high values, while Centro (691) and Oeste e Vale do Tejo (686) were in an intermediate position. The Alentejo (415) and Setúbal Peninsula (518) had the lowest values.
This reality is particularly relevant in a context of strong increase in housing prices. Building new homes is one of the main ways to increase available supply, but its territorial distribution determines in which markets that supply is sufficiently increased. Building more in the country as a whole does not necessarily mean sufficiently increasing supply in the municipalities where demand is highest.
The differences become even more expressive at the municipal level. Construction is generally lower in the country's interior, but these territories also have lower housing demand. The scenario is different in areas with higher demand and greater pressure on housing supply, particularly many municipalities in Greater Lisbon and the Algarve, which show relatively low construction levels given existing demand, contributing to higher prices.
The data reveal a double reality: Portugal builds far less housing today than two decades ago, but, within this overall low level, there are considerable differences in construction capacity between regions and municipalities.
