If you're considering buying property in Portugal—whether for lifestyle, relocation, or investment purposes—you may have encountered headlines highlighting challenges within the Portuguese real estate market, particularly concerning housing conditions. While some of this coverage can appear alarming, it is not entirely without basis.
Against the backdrop of an ongoing housing crisis, it is important to look beyond the headlines and examine the underlying factors shaping Portugal’s property market today.
What is the condition of housing and buildings in Portugal?
Despite Portugal’s reputation for quality of life and affordability, official data from Statistics Portugal (INE) highlights persistent challenges related to the physical condition and energy efficiency of the country’s housing stock.
These issues reflect the age of much of Portugal’s built environment and underscore the need for continued renovation and modernisation.
One of the most pressing concerns is thermal comfort. In 2024, 15.7% of the population lived in households that could not afford to keep their homes adequately warm, a figure significantly higher than the EU average of 9.2%. This points to widespread energy inefficiency, particularly in older properties that lack insulation, modern heating systems, or effective climate control in which residents rely on portable heaters.
The problem is structural rather than climatic, as Portugal’s winters are relatively mild, with an average temperature range of 5 °C to 14 °C, and therefore should not represent a significant challenge in terms of maintaining comfortable temperatures. However, inadequate insulation, heating, and energy efficiency results in levels of thermal discomfort significantly above the European average.
Housing quality issues extend beyond heating. INE data shows that 34.2% of the population lives in dwellings with at least one fundamental structural problem, including inadequate sanitary facilities or defects in the physical structure of the building. Conditions have worsened in recent years, with 32.1% of the population in 2025 living in housing affected by leaking roofs, damp walls, or rotting floors or windows, up from 23.5% in 2022. This sharp increase highlights the deterioration of aging buildings and insufficient maintenance.
The age profile of Portugal’s housing stock is a key contributing factor. According to the 2021 Census, 23.1% of homes were built before 1960, while just 17.9% were constructed after 2000. Although 110,784 new buildings were completed over the past decade, they represent only 3.1% of total housing stock, meaning that modern, energy-efficient homes remain the exception rather than the norm. Only 2.5% more new homes were built in 2021 compared to 2011, despite the massive increase in demand shown by house prices more than doubling over that period.
As a result of Portugal’s aging housing stock, 35.8% of buildings require repairs, and 4.6% need major structural intervention. Comfort-related amenities remain limited, with 83.4% of homes lacking air conditioning, a figure that improves to 63.5% among properties built in the last decade, indicating gradual progress in newer developments.
Together, these figures illustrate a housing system under strain, characterised by aging structures, energy inefficiency, and rising maintenance needs.
Compounding these challenges, Portugal is home to more than 700,000 abandoned properties, many in advanced states of decay. Collapsed roofs, boarded-up entrances, deteriorating façades, and compromised structural integrity pose safety risks and detract from surrounding communities. These neglected assets stand in stark contrast to Portugal’s architectural heritage and natural beauty and represent both a challenge and an opportunity within the real estate market.
When these factors are considered together—aging housing stock, overcrowding, and broader socio-economic conditions that have contributed to high vacancy levels—it becomes clear why the situation can appear concerning to prospective buyers and investors. Some hesitation is therefore understandable when assessing Portugal as an investment destination.
However, despite these challenges, Portugal remains a highly attractive and resilient real estate market. The key lies in identifying the right opportunities.
While navigating the market can feel daunting, particularly for those wishing to avoid costly renovations or unforeseen structural issues, there are reliable alternatives. Carefully selected, renovated, and professionally inspected properties offer a secure path forward. Exploring such options allows investors and homebuyers to benefit from Portugal’s strong long-term potential while minimising risk and ensuring peace of mind.
Portugal Homes as a part of the solution to the poor housing conditions in Portugal
Whether you are looking to establish yourself in Portugal or make a property investment, you can be rest assured that our company is the right choice as we have taken some actions to deal with the housing crisis issue and provide the best quality of constructions in the country. At Portugal Homes, we have founded our Project Development and Construction department, committed to developing and managing your investment project from A to Z. Their expertise ranges across all types of properties, from land plots primed for development, to residential buildings, such as apartments, townhouses and villas, to commercial-oriented buildings, such as shops, warehouses, and even hotels and resorts.
Led by our Business Development Director, Andreia Leite, the department consists of many more experts and veterans, from senior civil engineers to project managers, to architects, planners and designers. In fact, the list of properties we have available for sale have all had, in some way or another, the involvement of our Project Development and Construction department. However, one can argue that it is easy to talk without showcasing any type of evidence. You do not have to worry about it either.
We invite you to take a look at Pátio do Jordão.
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Through the efforts and will of our Project Development and Construction department, this once forgotten, time-ravished property with little to no housing conditions, right in the middle of the heart of Lisbon, was given new life. Refurbished from the ground-up, only the highest-quality materials have been used, always bearing in mind not only the space, but the liveability of all of its future residents. With a total of eleven units, most of them apartments, this property now boasts a plethora of services, making life easier for everyone, including a garden, a pool and a concierge service.
And this example, in Lisbon, is but one among many more. Portugal Homes’ reach extends throughout the entire country. We have several properties readily available for sale in all regions of the country, including but not limited to the Algarve, the Silver Coast, Porto, Cascais, and, of course, some of Lisbon’s trendiest, most sought-after neighbourhoods, such as Chiado, Graça and Saldanha.
If you want to know more about the projects we have taken on, our philosophy, culture and our processes, from the early onset of the concept stage to the moment where we hand in your keys, feel free to reach out to us. We will get back to you in an instant.
Get familiar with the constructions that our Project Development & Construction department has built over the years across Portugal.
