• Over the next two years, more than 4,500 new residential properties are expected in the city of Lisbon

•Only 32% of the residential units in this pipeline are available for marketing purposes

•2023 will be a year of more moderate optimism, with more strict risk analysis, but of continuous development of new projects

•The 2023 edition gets you acquainted with Lisbon’s key neighbourhoods



2022 was marked by challenges, with the macroeconomic context exerting greater pressure on the market. In the residential area, the rise in inflation and interest rates, the rising construction costs and the lack of labour were some of the challenges faced by the sector last year.

In this new edition of the Residential Market Study 2023, Savills Portugal highlights the results achieved in 2022, as well as the drivers and trends expected for 2023 for the Lisbon, Porto and Algarve regions.

Portugal has maintained a privileged position as an attractive destination for foreign buyers. At the end of 2022, foreign residential investment totalled 3.6 billion € in a volume of 10,722 sold properties. A demand remaining solid, grounded on strong market fundamentals such as security, climate and living conditions, also established now in the growing transition to a digital economy that allows anyone to work remotely anywhere in the world.

According to the “Savills Executive Nomad Index” cited in the study, Lisbon was considered the best city in the world for digital nomads, surpassing cities such as Miami, Dubai and Barcelona.

France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China and the United States have led the sales charts, presenting buyer profiles that focus their demand on the areas of excellence with a view to acquiring a permanent or second home in second home in prestigious buildings of high architectural quality.

“Regarding the number of international buyers investing in Portugal, they may represent, on an overall level, around 15% of the of the market. However, if we look only at the high-end market, where we where we are positioned, foreign clients represent more than 50% of the transactions, a value to be maintained. This type of investor does not feel the impact of the inflation nor the rise in interest rates in the same way and continues to consider our market as one of the most attractive”, points out Miguel Lacerda, Lisbon Residential Director, Savills Portugal.

At the end of 2022, approximately 51,000 homes were sold in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, a number fully in line with 2021. In a challenging year, this result saw a very residual decrease of 1.4% and was above the five-year annual average (49,540 units).

The city of Lisbon accounted for the largest share of transactions in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon with approximately 11,300 homes sold, followed by the municipalities of Sintra, Setúbal and Cascais.

In recent years, Oeiras and Cascais have emerged as the natural areas of expansion of the Lisbon residential market. Oeiras offers a market geared towards larger typologies, with projects aimed at upper-middle to upper income families proliferating. Cascais, on the other hand, stands out for the development of projects designed for the high-end and luxury market.

According to the pipeline surveyed by Savills, more than 4,500 new residences are expected over the next two years in the municipality of Lisbon itself (considering only projects in current state of construction). However, it is important to note that at the date of publication of this report, only 32% of residential units are available for sale, figures that prove the strong strong dynamics of demand.

The Prime zone, which comprises prime arteries such as Avenida da Liberdade and Chiado, as well as areas located in the most peripheral rings in the the heart of the city, such as Lumiar, account for the highest number of new built homes.

The average sale prices of new built properties in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in 2022 registered a decrease of almost 7% compared to prices in 2021, closing the year at 5,399 €/sq. m, a figure which means a greater stabilisation and slowdown in the rate of growth in comparison with previous years, whilst the average sale prices of average sale prices of used property increased by around 5%, settling at 3,225 €/sq. m

In the luxury segment (5% most expensive properties), in an analysis carried out since 2011, sales prices in the new built segment stood at 5,000 €/sq. m. In 2022, they reached 11,500 sq. m, with a permanent growth over the last 12 years.

Faced with the challenges that rising construction costs have imposed on the market, Savills asked three of the most important developers in the residential market in Portugal about the impact of these increases on the final price of their of their projects.

Alexandra Portugal Gomes says “on the whole, the feeling is optimistic, although more moderated. The projects continue to advance with the accommodation of rising construction costs reflected in the asking prices of projects in the sales phase. For 2023, we foresee a continued development of new projects, with a slight increase in prices”.

This edition of the study also includes an exclusive Buyers Guide, providing information about the areas and neighbourhoods of the residential market in the city of Lisbon, including legal information on the process of acquiring residential property in Portugal.