Selling a property in Cascais and Estoril in 2026: prices, time to sell and agents

What is a property in Cascais and Estoril worth?

Two kinds of figure are quoted for Cascais, and they are not comparable. INE medians are what buyers actually paid, taken from completed sales recorded by the tax authority. idealista asking prices are the average advertised price on the idealista portal. In Cascais, asking prices run roughly 20–30% above INE transaction medians.

INE figures for Cascais municipality (all family dwellings):

Period	INE median paid	Change on a year earlier
Q1 2026 (quarter)	€5,000/m²	+11.7% (as reported by Executive Digest)
12 months April 2025–March 2026	€4,687/m²	–
Q4 2025 (quarter)	€4,654/m²	+10.8%
Year 2025	€4,550/m²	–

In Q1 2026 only Lisbon (€5,292/m²) was higher. Cascais was the second municipality ever to reach €5,000/m². Larger homes carry a premium: over the 12 months to March 2026, homes with four or more bedrooms sold at a median €5,000/m², the highest of Portugal’s 24 municipalities with more than 100,000 people. New builds sold at €5,027/m². INE had not published Q2 2026 municipal figures by 24 September 2026.

By parish and zone, the gap between asking and paid prices is clear. INE parish medians cover the 12 months to March 2026 and come from INE data republished by a third party, not checked against the INE database. idealista figures are for August 2026.

Area	INE median paid (12 months to Mar 2026)	idealista asking (Aug 2026)	100 m² at INE median	100 m² at asking
Cascais town, Quinta da Marinha, Birre, Guincho	Parish: €5,459/m²	“Cascais” zone: €7,146/m²	€545,900	€714,600
Monte Estoril, Estoril, São João and São Pedro do Estoril	Parish: €5,459/m²	“Estoril” zone: €6,813/m²	€545,900	€681,300
Parede (Carcavelos e Parede parish)	Parish: €4,870/m²	Parede: €5,622/m²	€487,000	€562,200
Alcabideche (Murches, Alcoitão, Amoreira, Manique)	€4,159/m²	€4,923/m²	€415,900	€492,300
São Domingos de Rana	€3,934/m²	€4,123/m²	€393,400	€412,300
Cascais municipality	€4,687/m²	€6,055/m²	€468,700	€605,500

Cascais town and the Estoril coast share one INE parish (Cascais e Estoril), so INE gives them a single median. There is no published price series for Quinta da Marinha, Birre or Monte Estoril on their own. For a single property, the agent’s comparable sales are a better guide than any average.

Older idealista figures are not comparable. idealista changed its methodology in July 2026. Figures such as “€5,666/m²” or “€5,628/m² in April 2026” that still circulate come from the old series.

Is 2026 a good time to sell in Cascais?

The data point in two directions.

• Sale prices were still rising early in 2026. The INE median was up 11.7% year on year in Q1 2026. But Cascais is growing more slowly than Portugal: in Q4 2025 its median rose 10.8%, against 17.5% nationally.
• Asking prices on the coast have stalled. In the Cascais e Estoril parish, idealista asking prices fell 1.2% in the three months to August 2026 and are 0.9% up on a year earlier. The municipal figure slowed from +11.5% a year on year in September 2025 to +2.6% in August 2026. The series peaked at €6,101/m² in May 2026.
• Momentum has moved inland. Alcabideche asking prices are up 10.6% in a year, a record for the parish, and São Domingos de Rana 12.2%.
• Foreign buyers pay more tax. Since 25 May 2026, buyers who are not tax resident in Portugal pay a flat 7.5% IMT (property transfer tax) on the whole price (Decree-Law 97/2026). On a €900,000 house that is €67,500, against €54,000 for a resident. Buyers who become resident within two years, or let at a moderate rent, can reclaim the difference. The effect on Cascais has not yet been measured, but the tax falls on the buyers this market relies on.

For a seller, the practical reading is that the prime coastal zones are no longer a rising tide. Price close to recent comparable sales, not to the peak asking prices of spring 2026.

Who is buying in Cascais?

• Foreign buyers dominate at the upper end. Engel & Völkers’ Portugal market report 2025–2026 says 81.3% of purchases in Cascais were made by foreigners, mainly from Brazil, Russia and the United States. That is Engel & Völkers’ own figure, most likely drawn from its own sales, not an official market-wide statistic. Nationally, foreigners made 27.6% of household home purchases in 2025 (INE, reported by ECO).
• Foreign-domiciled buyers pay more per m². In Grande Lisboa, buyers with a tax domicile abroad paid 34.5% more per m² than domestic buyers in Q1 2026 (INE).
• Families buying large houses. The four-bedroom-plus median is the highest among Portugal’s large municipalities. The concentration of international schools nearby suggests school-driven family demand, though no survey measures it.
• Fewer non-resident buyers overall. Nationally, 8,471 homes were bought by non-residents in 2025, down 13.3% and the third annual fall.

On the selling side there is no Cascais-specific data. Two national drivers apply: NHR tax status ends between 2026 and 2029 for people registered from 2016 to 2019 (see NHR ending), and the new UK–Portugal tax treaty applies from 2026.

How long does it take to sell in Cascais?

No credible source publishes days on market for Cascais alone. The nearest figures:

Indicator	Figure	Area	Source
Average time to sell (absorption), Q1 2026	5 months	Lisbon Metropolitan Area	Confidencial Imobiliário, via KW Alfa
Average discount from asking price, Q1 2026	4.4%	Lisbon Metropolitan Area	Confidencial Imobiliário, via KW Alfa
Gap between asking and sale prices, Q1 2026	13.0% (was 20.3% a year earlier)	Lisbon Metropolitan Area	Confidencial Imobiliário, via KW Alfa
Listings with a price cut, Q1 2026	9%	Lisboa district, which includes Cascais	idealista

Add the legal steps after you accept an offer: the CPCV (promissory contract) with a deposit, then the escritura (the deed). If you live abroad, allow time to sign a power of attorney, which must be notarised and apostilled if signed outside Portugal. See selling as a non-resident.

What does selling in Cascais 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 €900,000 house in Estoril, no mortgage, seller living abroad.

	Commission 5%	Commission 4% (negotiated)
Commission	€45,000	€36,000
VAT on commission (23%)	€10,350	€8,280
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	€58,125 (6.5%)	€47,055 (5.2%)
Received at the deed	€841,875	€852,945

One percentage point of commission on this house is worth €11,070 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-let licences (alojamento local, AL). Decree-Law 76/2024 gave control of short lets back to municipalities. Decree-Law 151/2026, of 30 July 2026, as reported by ECO and ATAM, gives municipalities with more than 1,000 AL registrations until 31 December 2026 to decide on a regulation. They may suspend new registrations once, and never beyond 31 December 2026. Existing registrations are not affected. On 24 September 2026 we found no Cascais AL regulation, draft or suspension on cascais.pt. If your property has an AL registration, say so in the listing, and ask your lawyer whether it can pass to the buyer for your property type. A buyer cannot assume a new registration will be available after the council decides.

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. Unlicensed pools and extensions are common in older villas. See unlicensed works.

Selling versus letting. idealista asking rents in Cascais averaged €22.8/m² a month in July 2026, up 5.8% in a year. A 100 m² flat at that level would advertise at about €2,280 a month. That is below the €2,300 monthly cap of the moderate-rent regime, under which rental income is taxed at 10% from 2026 to 2029 (Decree-Law 97/2026). Separately, if you sell and reinvest the proceeds in Portuguese 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 Cascais

Cascais has most of the international networks, several luxury boutiques and a few buyer’s agents. Check that the agency’s AMI licence number, issued by IMPIC, appears on its website and contract, then check it on the IMPIC register. Ask for recent comparable sales in your street or estate, not asking prices. Keep an exclusive contract short. Our list of English-speaking estate agents in Cascais and Estoril sets out the offices, licence numbers and segments, without ranking them. For commission norms and contract terms, see estate agent commission. If you plan to buy again locally, see buying in Cascais, and for the whole area see the Cascais & Estoril hub.

Key points

• INE median sale price in Cascais: €5,000/m² in Q1 2026, second only to Lisbon; €5,459/m² in the Cascais e Estoril parish over the 12 months to March 2026.
• idealista asking prices: €6,055/m² for the municipality in August 2026 (+2.6% a year), flat to falling since May on the Cascais and Estoril coast. idealista changed its method in July 2026, so do not compare with older figures.
• In the wider Lisbon area, homes took about 5 months to sell in Q1 2026, at an average discount of 4.4%.
• On a €900,000 sale, commission at 5% plus VAT is €55,350; at 4% it is €44,280.
• Non-resident buyers pay 7.5% IMT since 25 May 2026, which raises costs for the foreign buyers Cascais depends on.
• From 1 October 2026 the deed must state the habitation licence position; check yours before listing.