Selling a property in the Algarve in 2026: prices, costs, tax and how long it takes

What is a property in the Algarve worth in 2026?

Two kinds of figure get quoted, and they measure different things. INE medians are what buyers actually paid, taken from completed sales recorded by the tax authority. The latest local release covers the 12 months July 2025 to June 2026 (published 23 October 2026). idealista asking prices are the average advertised price per m² on Portugal’s biggest portal, here for August 2026. idealista changed its method in July 2026, so older idealista figures still quoted online belong to a different series.

The table covers every Algarve municipality we write about, west to east, plus the two Loulé parishes that hold the Golden Triangle resorts.

Municipality (parish)	Main places	INE median paid, 12 months to Jun 2026	Change on a year	idealista asking, Aug 2026	Change on a year	Asking above paid
Lagos	Lagos town, Meia Praia, Praia da Luz	€3,949/m²	+8.5%	€4,655/m²	+3.8%	18%
Portimão	Praia da Rocha, Alvor	€3,259/m²	+19.9%	€3,587/m²	+8.4%	10%
Lagoa	Carvoeiro, Ferragudo, Porches	€3,371/m²	+14.4%	€4,113/m²	+5.9%	22%
Albufeira	Old town, Oura, Galé, Olhos de Água	€3,490/m²	+11.3%	€4,168/m²	+6.3%	19%
Loulé	Whole municipality	€4,137/m²	+13.7%	€5,159/m²	+8.7%	25%
– Almancil parish	Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, Almancil	€5,617/m²	+4.7%	€7,658/m²	+15.9%	36%
– Quarteira parish	Vilamoura, Quarteira	€4,482/m²	+11.1%	€5,198/m²	+5.9%	16%
Tavira	Tavira town, Santa Luzia, Cabanas	€3,282/m²	+11.8%	€3,574/m²	+4.7%	9%
Castro Marim	Altura, Praia Verde	€2,710/m²	+24.5%	€3,004/m² (July)	+6.1%	11%
Vila Real de Santo António	Monte Gordo, Manta Rota	€3,116/m²	+15.2%	€3,784/m²	+17.7%	21%
Algarve		€3,338/m²	+14.2%	€4,202/m² (Faro district)	+8.7%	26%

Changes in INE medians and the “asking above paid” column are our arithmetic on the published figures. Loulé is the most expensive municipality in the Algarve and the fourth in Portugal, after Lisbon, Cascais and Oeiras (INE). Fourteen of the sixteen Algarve municipalities were above the national median of €2,264/m².

Within each municipality the spread is wide. Prices paid ran from €5,617/m² in Almancil down to €1,250/m² in Salir in the Loulé hills, and asking prices from €10,967/m² in the Quinta do Lago zone down to €1,841/m² in Salir. Our area pages break the figures down by parish: Lagos, Portimão and Alvor, Carvoeiro and Lagoa, Albufeira, Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Vilamoura and Tavira and the east.

Why do asking prices run so far above what homes sell for?

Across the Algarve, the average asking price is about 26% above the median price paid. The gap is smallest in Tavira (9%) and Portimão (10%) and largest in Almancil (36%). Four things explain most of it.

1. Timing. The INE figure covers sales from July 2025 to June 2026; the asking figure is August 2026. With Algarve prices paid rising about 14% a year, part of the gap is simply that the asking figure is later.
2. Unsold homes stay on the portal. A well-priced home sells and disappears from the listings. An over-priced one sits there for months and keeps pulling the average up. The asking average is weighted towards the homes that have not sold.
3. Negotiating room. Many sellers list above the price they expect. In Q1 2026, 9% of Faro district listings had a price cut (11% in Faro city, up from 6% a year earlier), against 8% nationally (idealista).
4. Different mix. Portals carry a lot of villa and resort stock aimed at foreign buyers. INE counts every recorded sale, including the cheaper town flats bought by local families.

Neither figure is a valuation. What it means for you: an agent who quotes a price off neighbours’ adverts is quoting the top of the gap. Ask for completed sales of similar homes nearby, and treat the INE median for your parish as the floor of the conversation, not the ceiling.

Example	At INE median paid	At idealista asking	Gap
90 m² flat, Albufeira	€314,100 (€3,490/m²)	€375,120 (€4,168/m²)	€61,020
90 m² flat, Tavira	€295,380 (€3,282/m²)	€321,660 (€3,574/m²)	€26,280
200 m² villa, Lagoa	€674,200 (€3,371/m²)	€822,600 (€4,113/m²)	€148,400

A median per m² mixes flats with villas, so these are illustrations, not estimates. You can get a free price estimate.

Who buys in the Algarve now?

The Algarve is Portugal’s main market for buyers from abroad. In 2025, buyers with a tax domicile outside Portugal bought 8,471 homes across the country, down 13.3% and the third annual fall. The Algarve took 29.7% of those purchases by number and 42.4% by value, and its share rose on 2024 (INE, as reported by idealista/news). By our arithmetic that is roughly 2,500 homes bought in the Algarve by foreign-domiciled buyers in 2025.

Nationally the fall continued in 2026. Non-residents bought 1,170 homes in Q1 (down 15.6%) and 1,890 in Q2 (down 10.3%), 4.7% of all sales. Their average price in Q1 was €449,416, 77% above residents’ (INE, via idealista/news).

Do foreign buyers pay more? Yes, everywhere INE publishes the split except Castro Marim.

Area	Buyers domiciled in Portugal	Buyers domiciled abroad	Foreign premium
Algarve	€3,196/m²	€3,996/m²	+25%
Lagos	€3,612/m²	€4,335/m²	+20%
Portimão	€3,187/m²	€3,867/m²	+21%
Albufeira	€3,399/m²	€3,937/m²	+16%
Loulé	€3,897/m²	€5,135/m²	+32%
– Almancil parish	€4,118/m²	€7,276/m²	+77%
– Quarteira parish (Vilamoura)	€4,382/m²	€4,953/m²	+13%
Lagoa	€3,080/m²	€3,922/m²	+27%
Vila Real de Santo António	€3,093/m²	€3,253/m²	+5%
Castro Marim	€2,801/m²	€2,449/m²	−13%
Tavira (Q2 2026 quarter only)	€3,435/m²	€3,668/m²	+7%

INE medians, 12 months to June 2026 unless stated; premiums are our arithmetic.

Which nationalities? INE does not publish buyers’ nationality. It splits domicile only into “EU” and “rest of the world”, and since Brexit British buyers count as rest of the world. The only nationality data are agency figures. Engel & Völkers’ 2025–26 market report, as summarised by idealista, says about 80% of buyers in Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo are international, mainly from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and 75% in Vilamoura, led by Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Those are one agency’s sales, not the whole market. A broker’s data point the same way: UK residents made 18.5% of non-residents’ mortgage requests in Q2 2026, ahead of Switzerland (14%) and France (11.9%), with requests concentrated in the Lisbon, Faro and Porto districts.

If your home suits a Portuguese buyer (a town flat in Portimão, Quarteira or Tavira, a village house inland), price it against the domestic median, not the foreign one.

What does the 7.5% non-resident IMT mean for sellers?

Since 25 May 2026, buyers who are not tax resident in Portugal, and never have been, pay IMT (property transfer tax) at a flat 7.5% of the whole price on a home (Decree-Law 97/2026, IMT Code article 17(10)–(12)). Residents buying a second home pay the ordinary sliding scale. The buyer pays IMT, not you, but it changes what your buyer can afford.

Price	IMT, resident buying a second home	IMT, non-resident	Extra for a non-resident
€350,000	€15,300	€26,250	€10,950
€750,000	€45,000	€56,250	€11,250
€1,500,000	€112,500	€112,500	€0

Figures from the 2026 IMT tables in our IMT calculator. Stamp duty of 0.8% is the same for both.

What it means in practice:

• Below about €1.15 million, a foreign buyer pays roughly €10,000–€12,000 more. That is most of the Algarve market, and it lands on the buyers who pay the highest prices per m².
• Above €1,150,853 everyone already pays a flat 7.5%, so the rule changes nothing for prime villas in Quinta do Lago or Vale do Lobo.
• Land is outside the rule. The 7.5% applies to homes only; rustic land keeps its 5% rate.
• Some buyers get it back. The difference is refunded if the buyer becomes Portuguese resident within two years, or lets the home within six months at no more than €2,300 a month for 36 of the first 60 months. Anyone who was ever Portuguese tax resident is not caught. A buyer moving here can weigh that when making an offer.

It is too early to measure the effect on Algarve prices. The only early sign is in broker data: non-residents’ share of completed mortgages fell to 9.7% in Q2 2026 from 16.8% a year earlier, while their share of requests held at 13.3% (idealista). Asking prices in Lagos peaked in May–June 2026 and have eased since, which coincides with the tax but is not proven to be caused by it.

What does it cost to sell in the Algarve?

The seller pays the estate agent: commonly about 5% of the price (roughly 3–6%) plus 23% VAT, at the deed, and freely negotiable. The buyer pays IMT, stamp duty and normally the deed and registration. The table assumes 5% commission at every price, no mortgage, and illustrative energy certificate and lawyer’s fees (not official tariffs).

	€350,000 flat	€750,000 villa	€1,500,000 villa
Commission at 5%	€17,500	€37,500	€75,000
VAT on commission (23%)	€4,025	€8,625	€17,250
Energy certificate (typical)	€250	€300	€350
Land registry certificate	€15	€15	€15
Lawyer (€1,500 / €2,000 / €3,000 plus 23% VAT)	€1,845	€2,460	€3,690
Total selling costs	€23,635	€48,900	€96,305
Costs as % of price	6.8%	6.5%	6.4%
Received at the deed	€326,365	€701,100	€1,403,695

At €1.5 million, a negotiated 4% instead of 5% cuts the commission and VAT by €18,450, bringing total costs to €77,855 (5.2%). Each percentage point on €750,000 is €9,225 with VAT. Add, where they apply: an early mortgage repayment fee (capped at 0.5% of the amount repaid on variable-rate loans, 2% on fixed), condominium or resort charges owed, and the cost of legalising unlicensed works. There is no withholding of tax at the deed. See costs of selling and estate agent commission.

How much capital gains tax will I pay?

Since 1 January 2023, non-residents are taxed on 50% of the gain at Portugal’s progressive income tax rates (12.5% to 48% in 2026), with the rate set by reference to their worldwide income, plus a 2.5% solidarity surcharge on the part of the Portuguese taxable amount above €80,000. The old flat 28% rate for non-residents ended then; it is still widely quoted and is wrong. Residents are also taxed on 50%, added to their other income. Property bought before 1 January 1989 is outside the tax.

Worked example: a villa near Albufeira bought in 2010 for €300,000, sold in 2026 for €750,000. The seller lives outside Portugal and has €40,000 of other income. Calculated with the same rules as our selling calculator, using the 2025 inflation coefficients (Portaria 382/2025/1) because the 2026 table is due around November 2026.

Step	Amount
Sale price	€750,000
Purchase price €300,000 × inflation coefficient for 2010 (1.28)	−€384,000
IMT, stamp duty and notary paid on purchase (with receipts)	−€20,000
Pool and kitchen renovation in 2018 (invoices with the seller’s NIF; works count only if done in the last 12 years)	−€40,000
Selling costs: commission and VAT €46,125, certificate and lawyer €2,775	−€48,900
Gain	€257,100
Taxable half (50%)	€128,550
Average rate on worldwide income of €168,550 (€128,550 + €40,000)	41.2%
Tax at that rate on €128,550	€53,019
Solidarity surcharge: 2.5% × (€128,550 − €80,000)	€1,214
Portuguese tax	€54,233 (21.1% of the gain)
Kept after costs and tax	€646,867

The same sale by a Portuguese resident with the same €40,000 of income comes to €61,980, because the gain stacks on top of the other income. The gain is declared on the Portuguese return (Modelo 3, Annex G) between 1 April and 30 June 2027. UK residents also report the gain in the UK and get a credit for the Portuguese tax under the double tax convention in force since 29 December 2025; see UK residents selling. Two reliefs can cut the bill: reinvesting in a new main home, if this was yours, and the new rent-reinvestment exemption for sales from 2026 to 2029 (details). More in capital gains tax for non-residents.

What Algarve-specific problems hold up a sale?

Unlicensed pools, annexes and extensions

Older Algarve villas often have a pool, annexe, covered terrace or converted garage that is not on the habitation licence or the caderneta predial (tax record). Since 1 January 2024 (Decree-Law 10/2024) the licence need not be shown at the deed, though banks still ask for it. From 1 October 2026 (Decree-Law 108/2026), every deed must state whether the urban planning title was shown, declared to exist, or does not exist; if the statement is missing, either party can seek to annul the sale. Sort out the paperwork before you list. See unlicensed works.

Short-let (AL) licences

Since 1 November 2024 (Decree-Law 76/2024), an alojamento local registration no longer lapses on a sale, except in a council containment area. No Algarve council had adopted one when we checked. Lagoa is the furthest ahead: its draft regulation went to public consultation in January 2026 (Edital 4/2026). The draft sets no containment area in Carvoeiro, but on the council’s own October 2025 data short lets made up 32% of dwellings in Carvoeiro’s historic core and 45% of its second and empty homes, close to the draft’s 50% trigger. We found no regulation in Loulé, Albufeira, Lagos, Portimão or Tavira; Loulé’s national register showed 7,331 registrations in September 2026. Under Decree-Law 151/2026, councils with more than 1,000 registrations must decide on a regulation by 31 December 2026, and existing registrations are unaffected. One tax trap: if the home was used in your AL business, a sale within three years of taking it out is taxed as business income. See selling a short-let property.

Resort and tourist-development units

Many apartments and townhouses in Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo, Albufeira, Carvoeiro and Alvor sit inside licensed tourist developments run under Decree-Law 39/2008. Owners cannot let the unit themselves or on a residential lease (article 45(6)), so your buyers are holiday and lifestyle buyers. The promissory contract (CPCV) and the deed must attach the development’s registered constitution title (título constitutivo), the operator’s exploitation title and the first-year periodic charge, or the contract is void (article 54(7)). Unpaid charges stay attached to the unit (article 56). Resorts also have infrastructure fees: Vale do Lobo’s Infralobo charge was €15.58 a month per bedroom plus VAT in its 2025 guide. Not every resort flat is in this regime; ask the administrator early. See selling a resort apartment.

Quintas, rural land, RAN and REN

Inland quintas, farmhouses and ruins in the barrocal and the hills often sit in the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN, Decree-Law 73/2009) or the National Ecological Reserve (REN, Decree-Law 166/2008). Both are public-interest restrictions that tightly limit new building and extensions; works in REN land need prior approval from the regional authority (CCDR Algarve). One plot can be in both. If a buyer is paying for the chance to extend or rebuild, ask the council for planning information (informação prévia) before you set the price. Other points that come up:

• A neighbour may have a right of first refusal when small adjoining rustic plots are sold (Civil Code article 1380).
• Coastal homes fall under coastal plans that restrict building in cliff and dune strips: the Vilamoura–Vila Real de Santo António plan in the east (Resolution 103/2005) and the Burgau–Vilamoura plan in the west (Resolution 33/99), whose replacement, the Odeceixe–Vilamoura programme, is still a proposal.
• Inside the Ria Formosa Natural Park (Resolution 78/2009) works also need the nature authority’s (ICNF) opinion. The Ria de Alvor is a Natura 2000 site.
• Loulé and Tavira are both revising their municipal master plans (PDM), so rules for rural land may change.

How long does it take to sell?

No credible source publishes days on market for the Algarve. A “25 months to sell” Algarve figure still quoted online comes from the 2011–12 downturn and is not current. What the 2026 data show:

Indicator	Figure	Source
Algarve home sales, Q2 2026	−12.4% on a year	INE, via Observador
Listings with a price cut, Q1 2026	9% in Faro district, 11% in Faro city (6% a year earlier)	idealista
New buyer enquiries, Algarve, May 2026	Net balance −10% (Lisbon +17%)	RICS / Confidencial Imobiliário survey
Agents’ 12-month price expectations, Algarve	+38% net balance	Same survey
Sales in Quarteira parish (Vilamoura)	1,122 in the 12 months to Jun 2026, up 3%	INE

So prices paid are still rising, but fewer deals are closing across the region and buyers have more room to negotiate than in 2025. Vilamoura is the exception where transaction numbers are published, and they were up.

Once you accept an offer, the legal part follows: the CPCV with a deposit, commonly 10–30%, then the escritura (the deed). One Golden Triangle agency’s guide says sales often complete two to six weeks after agreement; that is one agency’s experience. If you live abroad, allow time for a power of attorney (procuração), notarised and apostilled if signed outside Portugal, or a consulate signature. For a flat you need the administrator’s statement that no condominium charges are owed. See selling as a non-resident.

How do I choose an agent in the Algarve?

Every agency must hold an AMI licence from IMPIC, the regulator; check the number on the IMPIC register and that the company named on your contract holds it, because franchise offices in the same brand are often different companies. Ask each agency for completed sales near you, not asking prices, and get two or three written proposals so you can compare the price and the commission. Our region-wide list of English-speaking estate agents in the Algarve checks every licence and links to the town lists for Lagos, Portimão, Carvoeiro, Albufeira, the Golden Triangle, Vilamoura and Tavira.

Key points

• Algarve homes sold for a median €3,338/m² in the 12 months to June 2026 (INE, +14.2%); asking prices in August 2026 averaged €4,202/m², about 26% higher.
• The asking-to-paid gap runs from 9% in Tavira to 36% in Almancil; price off completed sales, not adverts.
• The Algarve took 29.7% of homes bought by foreign-domiciled buyers in 2025 and 42.4% of their spending; foreign buyers pay 7–77% more per m² depending on the area.
• The 7.5% non-resident IMT adds about €11,000 to a foreign buyer’s bill at €350,000–€750,000 and nothing above €1,150,853.
• Selling costs are about 6.5% of the price at 5% commission plus VAT; a non-resident selling a €750,000 villa bought for €300,000 in 2010 pays about €54,000 in Portuguese tax in our example.
• Check the licence position, any resort title documents, the AL registration and RAN/REN status before you list.