Selling a property in Almada and Costa da Caparica in 2026: prices, time to sell and agents

What is a property in Almada and Costa da Caparica worth?

INE medians are what buyers actually paid, from completed sales recorded by the tax authority. idealista asking prices are the average advertised price on the portal. The two are not comparable. In Almada, the August 2026 asking price (€3,907/m²) ran about 14% above the INE median paid in Q1 2026 (€3,418/m²).

INE figures for Almada municipality (all family dwellings):

Period	INE median paid	Note
Q1 2026 (quarter)	€3,418/m²	+16.5% on Q1 2025 (€2,933); fifth-highest in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area
Q4 2025 (quarter)	€3,311/m²	–
12 months April 2025–March 2026	€3,267/m²	Cascais €4,687; Seixal €2,800; Sesimbra €2,909

The +16.5% rise comes from INE’s own release; the euro figures are INE data as reported by the local paper Almadense and the data site mra-bio.me, because the INE database was unreachable when we checked. Almada rose more slowly than Portugal as a whole (+19.8%). INE’s next local release is due on 23 October 2026.

By parish and zone (INE medians for the 12 months to March 2026, republished by a third party; idealista asking prices for August 2026):

Area	INE median paid (parish)	idealista asking	Asking, change in a year	100 m² at asking
Costa da Caparica centre	€4,426/m²	€4,818/m²	+7.3%	€481,800
Costa da Caparica, Santo António	€4,426/m²	€4,278/m²	+5.5%	€427,800
Aroeira (Charneca parish)	€3,248/m²	€5,067/m²	−7.5%	€506,700
Charneca: Botequim, Quintinhas, Vale Cavala, Vale Fetal	€3,248/m²	€3,319–3,563/m²	−6.2% to +24.4%	€331,900–356,300
Almada centre	€3,240/m²	€3,949/m²	+20.4%	€394,900
Cacilhas	€3,240/m²	€3,910/m²	+4.8%	€391,000
Cova da Piedade	€3,240/m²	€3,702/m²	+17.7%	€370,200
Caparica e Trafaria	€3,230/m²	€3,235/m²	+9.7%	€323,500
Laranjeiro e Feijó	€3,017/m²	€3,607/m²	+11.7%	€360,700
Almada municipality	€3,267/m²	€3,907/m²	+5.1%	€390,700

Costa da Caparica is the only parish where the median paid sits well above the Almada figure, about 35% higher. The Charneca parish median mixes Aroeira golf-estate villas with ordinary houses, so it says little about any one street. Fonte da Telha has no separate price series. idealista changed its methodology in July 2026, so do not compare these asking prices with older idealista figures.

Is 2026 a good time to sell in Almada?

Prices paid are still rising, but asking prices have levelled off. idealista’s Almada asking price peaked at €3,986/m² in January 2026 and was €3,907/m² in August. Its annual growth fell from +28.8% in January to +5.1% in August, the clearest sign of a slowdown on this stretch of coast. By segment:

• Still rising: Almada centre (+20.4%), Cova da Piedade (+17.7%) and the Costa da Caparica parish (+7.3%, at its series peak).
• Below peak: Aroeira, at €5,067/m², is 7.5% down on a year and 15.9% below its November 2025 peak of €6,026/m². The Charneca e Sobreda parish (€4,065/m²) is 9.3% below its February 2026 peak.

Our reading: flats near the ferry, the train and the beach are selling into a rising market; the top end (golf-estate and beach villas) is the most price-sensitive. Nationally, sales fell 10.5% in Q1 2026 (INE); we could not verify an Almada count.

The 7.5% IMT for non-resident buyers. Since 25 May 2026, buyers who are not tax resident in Portugal pay a flat 7.5% property transfer tax (IMT) on a home (Decree-Law 97/2026). On a €450,000 flat that is €33,750, €11,513 more than a resident buying a main home pays (€22,237). Buyers who become resident within two years, or let at a moderate rent, can reclaim the difference, and the rate does not apply to anyone who was Portuguese tax resident before. For sellers, a foreign second-home buyer now pays more in tax to buy from you; expect some to negotiate harder.

Who is buying in Almada and Costa da Caparica?

No official source breaks down Almada buyers by type. The indicators point to four groups:

• Lisbon commuters and young families priced out of Lisbon and the Cascais line. The ferry from Cacilhas reaches Cais do Sodré in about 10 minutes, and the Fertagus train from Pragal reaches Roma-Areeiro in about 17 (2025 timetable).
• Beach buyers, Portuguese and foreign, for Costa da Caparica flats and houses in Aroeira and Charneca, including second homes. Costa da Caparica asks €4,642/m², about 23% less than Cascais municipality (€6,055/m², August 2026).
• Foreign residents of the Lisbon area wanting a house and garden. Almada had 38,237 foreign residents in 2024 (AIMA). Over the 12 months to March 2026, buyers with a tax address abroad paid a median €3,528/m² in Almada, against €3,262/m² for buyers domiciled in Portugal: about 8% more.
• Short-let investors in Costa da Caparica, which had 823 short-let registrations in May 2026, more than any other parish in Almada (Público).

How long does it take to sell?

No time-on-market figures exist for Almada alone. For the Lisbon Metropolitan Area as a whole:

Measure (Q1 2026)	Figure	Source
Time to sell (absorption)	about 5 months, unchanged	Confidencial Imobiliário, via KW Alfa
Average discount on asking price	4.4%	Confidencial Imobiliário, via KW Alfa
Homes for sale	35,612 (−4.4%)	Confidencial Imobiliário, via KW Alfa

After you accept an offer, allow time for the CPCV (promissory contract), where the buyer pays a deposit, and the escritura (the deed). If you live abroad, add time for a power of attorney, notarised and apostilled if signed outside Portugal. Properties in the former informal plot areas of Charneca, or with licensing gaps, can take much longer (see below). The full process is in selling as a non-resident.

What does selling in Almada cost?

The seller pays the agent. Commission is commonly about 5% of the price (roughly 3–6%) plus 23% VAT, and it is negotiable. The buyer pays IMT, stamp duty and normally the deed and registration.

Worked example: a €450,000 flat in Costa da Caparica (about 100 m² at the parish median paid), no mortgage, seller living abroad.

	Commission 5%	Commission 4% (negotiated)
Commission	€22,500	€18,000
VAT on commission (23%)	€5,175	€4,140
Energy certificate (typical)	€300	€300
Land registry certificate	€15	€15
Lawyer, €2,000 plus 23% VAT (illustrative quote)	€2,460	€2,460
Total selling costs	€30,450 (6.8%)	€24,915 (5.5%)
Received at the deed	€419,550	€425,085

One percentage point of commission on this flat is worth €5,535 including VAT. Capital gains tax comes later: non-residents are taxed on 50% of the gain at progressive rates set by reference to worldwide income, and the commission and VAT reduce the gain. See costs of selling, capital gains tax for non-residents and run your own figures in the selling calculator.

Local rules sellers must know

Short lets (alojamento local, AL). Almada had 1,777 short-let registrations in May 2026, 823 of them in Costa da Caparica (Público). On 20–21 May 2026 the council approved starting work on its first municipal short-let regulation; we found no containment area or suspension of new registrations in force. Decree-Law 151/2026 gives councils with more than 1,000 registrations until 31 December 2026 to decide. A registered AL flat in Costa da Caparica may therefore become scarcer; ask your lawyer whether the registration can pass to the buyer under Decree-Law 76/2024 before you advertise it.

Arriba Fóssil protected landscape. The fossil cliff from Costa da Caparica to Fonte da Telha is a protected landscape (Decree-Law 168/84). Building, extension and earthworks there need the protected-area authority’s approval as well as the council’s. The coastal programme POC-ACE (Council of Ministers Resolution 66/2019) also limits building near beaches and the cliff.

Fonte da Telha. The council’s detailed plan for Fonte da Telha provides for demolishing most existing houses because of cliff instability, and the Government’s coastal programme (reported July 2026) earmarks about €9 million for dune restoration there, including removing structures. Many houses there have no licence or stand on public maritime land and cannot be sold in the normal way. Get a lawyer’s check before listing.

Former informal plots (AUGI) in Charneca. In 2021 Almada had 97 áreas urbanas de génese ilegal (informally developed plot areas), 74 of them in Charneca de Caparica e Sobreda. Until a plot’s legal reconversion is complete, a clean deed, a buyer’s mortgage and licensing can all be blocked. Check your plot’s status with the council before you set a price.

Licensing at the deed. From 1 October 2026 (Decree-Law 108/2026), every deed must state whether the habitation licence was shown, declared to exist, or does not exist; if the statement is missing, either party can seek to annul the sale. See unlicensed works.

Selling versus letting. idealista asking rents in Costa da Caparica were €18.9/m² a month in August 2026 (Almada €16.4/m²). A 100 m² flat would advertise at about €1,890 a month, below the €2,300 cap of the moderate-rent regime, where rental income is taxed at 10% from 2026 to 2029. If you sell and reinvest in homes let at or below that cap, the gain can be excluded from tax: see the rent-reinvestment exemption.

How to choose an agent in Almada

Almada has international franchise offices and local independents, but few market in English, and no agency we found offers a dedicated buyer’s-agent service. Check that the agency’s AMI licence number, issued by IMPIC, appears on its website and contract, and check it on the IMPIC register. Ask for recent sales in your street or estate, not asking prices, and ask whether the agent has sold property with a licensing or AUGI history like yours. Keep an exclusive contract short. Our list of English-speaking estate agents in Almada and Costa da Caparica gives offices, licence numbers and languages, without ranking them. For commission and contract terms, see estate agent commission. If you plan to buy again locally, see buying in Almada and Costa da Caparica, and for the area overview, the Almada & Costa da Caparica hub.

Key points

• INE median sale price in Almada: €3,418/m² in Q1 2026 (+16.5% in a year); €4,426/m² in the Costa da Caparica parish over the 12 months to March 2026.
• idealista asking prices, August 2026: €3,907/m² for Almada (+5.1% a year, down from +28.8% in January) and €4,642/m² for Costa da Caparica. Aroeira is 15.9% below its November 2025 peak.
• In the wider Lisbon area, homes took about 5 months to sell in Q1 2026, at an average discount of 4.4%.
• On a €450,000 sale, commission at 5% plus VAT is €27,675; at 4% it is €22,140.
• Fonte da Telha, cliff-top plots and former AUGI plots in Charneca need a lawyer’s licensing check before you list.
• Almada is drafting its first short-let regulation; a decision is due by 31 December 2026.