Anyone considering buying a house close to the sea or a large estuary, whether to live in or as a holiday home will find that prices have risen in 81 of the 84 Portuguese municipalities, according to data from idealista.

Albergaria-a-Velha, in the district of Aveiro, is where house prices rose the most between the second quarter of 2023 and the same period in the previous year (+43%). Also in São Vicente and Ribeira Brava (both on the island of Madeira), Murtosa (Aveiro) and in Óbidos (Leiria), the prices of houses for sale rose by around 40% in just one year.

There were only three seaside municipalities where houses for sale were cheaper in this period: Estarreja, in Aveiro (-13%), Esposende, in Braga (-9%) and Sesimbra, in Setúbal (-2%), according to data from idealista/data.


Where has become cheaper?

But in which municipalities is it cheaper to buy a house near the beach? According to the same statistical bases, there are only seven municipalities where the median price of houses for sale by the sea is less than 1,100 euros per square meter (euros/m2) – and, of these, only three are located in mainland Portugal:

Nordeste (São Miguel island, Azores): buying a house cost, in median terms, 879 euros/m2 in the second quarter of 2023;

Estarreja (Aveiro): 937 euros/m2;

Marinha Grande (Leiria): 1,009 euros/m2;

Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira Island, Azores): 1,022 euros/m2;

Praia da Vitória (Terceira Island, Azores): 1,061 euros/m2;

Cantanhede (Coimbra): 1,067 euros/m2;

Povoação (São Miguel Island, Azores): 1,083 euros/m2.


Where is most expensive?

At the opposite extreme is the municipality of Lisbon - bathed by the Tagus River and a few kilometers from the beach in several directions - where purchasing a house had a median cost of 5,351 euros/m2 between April and June 2023 (+7% compared to the same period last year) ). Right after that is Grândola (in the Setúbal district), where buying a house cost 4,706 euros/m2. The top 5 of the most expensive coastal municipalities to buy a house is completed with Cascais (4,627 euros/m2), Oeiras (3,967 euros/m2) and Loulé (3,842 euros/m2).


Falling demand

According to the idealista data: the demand for houses to buy near the beach fell in 64 coastal municipalities in just one year (76% of the total). The biggest declines were identified in Ponta do Sol, on the island of Madeira (-57%), Santiago do Cacém, in Setúbal (-52%) and in Murtosa, Aveiro (-50%).

On the other hand, there was an increase in demand in 20 municipalities along the coast – Lisbon included (+11%) -, eleven of which are located on the islands of Madeira and the Azores.

As a result of the slowdown in demand, the supply of houses for sale close to the beach rose in 52 municipalities out of the 84 analysed. In Odemira, the number of homes available for purchase doubled between the second quarter of 2023 and the same period of 2022. In Santiago do Cacém it increased by 70%, in the municipality of Ribeira Brava (Madeira Island) it grew by 57% and in Mafra 51%.