Portugal led EU house price growth in the second quarter at 16.5%

Serguey Asael Shinder02 October 2026, 07:481 min read

Portugal recorded the fastest annual house price growth in the European Union in the second quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat figures reported by Euronews. Prices there rose 16.5% from a year earlier, ahead of Bulgaria at 15.5% and Lithuania at 14.3%.

Across the bloc, house prices rose 4% in the euro area and 4.7% in the EU compared with the second quarter of 2025. Against the first quarter of this year they increased 1.1% in the euro area and 1.2% in the EU. Only three countries recorded falls on the year: Finland at minus 2.7%, Luxembourg at minus 2.2% and France at minus 0.8%.

In Portugal the rise has continued into the autumn on asking prices. The Idealista index, compiled by the property portal, showed prices up 7.9% in September from a year earlier and 0.6% on the month, reaching a record median asking price of €3,228 per square metre. The steepest annual increases among the cities surveyed were in Vila Real at 17.8%, Leiria at 17.6% and Beja at 14.4%, while Lisbon rose least, by 4.4%, though it remains the most expensive city at €6,256 per square metre.

The two measures are different: Eurostat's index tracks transaction prices, while Idealista's reflects what sellers ask on its platform, which is why the annual rates differ.

Why it matters

Euro area house prices are rising again at around 4% a year while the ECB weighs its response to an energy shock. Divergence this wide, from double-digit gains in Portugal and Bulgaria to falls in France and Finland, is a reminder that one policy rate lands very differently on national housing markets.