Selling a property in Lisbon in 2026: prices, short-let rules, time to sell and agents

What is a property in Lisbon worth?

Three kinds of price are quoted for Lisbon and they are not interchangeable:

• INE median: the median price per m² actually paid in completed sales, from tax-authority deed data.
• Confidencial Imobiliário (Ci) average: the average price of sales reported by agencies and banks.
• idealista asking price: the average advertised price on the idealista portal. In Lisbon it runs roughly 20–25% above the INE median.

INE figures for Lisboa municipality (all family dwellings):

Period	INE median paid	Change on a year earlier
Q1 2026 (quarter)	€5,292/m²	not stated in INE’s text
12 months April 2025–March 2026	€5,082/m²	+15.2%
Q4 2025 (quarter)	€5,198/m²	–
Year 2025	€4,875/m²	+12.3%

Lisbon is the most expensive municipality in Portugal and has the most sales: 8,095 in the 12 months to March 2026. New homes sold at a median €6,226/m² against €4,896/m² for existing homes. Ci, which measures differently, put the 2025 average sale price at €5,207/m² (+18.2%). INE’s Q2 2026 local figures are due on 23 October 2026.

Prices by parish. INE medians cover the 12 months to March 2026 and come from INE data republished by a third party (every value INE’s own release also quotes matches it). idealista asking prices are for August 2026; idealista changed its method in July 2026, so older idealista figures are not comparable.

Parish	Includes	INE median paid	idealista asking	Asking, change in a year
Santo António	Avenida da Liberdade, Príncipe Real, Rato	€6,986/m²	€8,070/m²	+9.5%
Parque das Nações	Former Expo site	€6,407/m²	€6,809/m²	+1.5%
Avenidas Novas	Saldanha, Campo Pequeno	€6,000/m²	€7,048/m²	+4.2%
Campo de Ourique		€5,979/m²	€6,629/m²	+3.7%
Misericórdia	Chiado, Bairro Alto, Bica, Santa Catarina	€5,913/m²	€6,807/m²	−1.3%
Estrela	Lapa, Madragoa, Estrela	€5,833/m²	€6,826/m²	−2.2%
Belém	Restelo	€5,498/m²	€6,830/m²	+4.8%
Campolide		€5,486/m²	€6,368/m²	−1.1%
São Domingos de Benfica		€5,182/m²	€5,483/m²	+7.3%
Ajuda		€5,161/m²	€5,232/m²	−4.2%
Alvalade		€5,041/m²	€6,056/m²	+4.7%
Marvila		€5,008/m²	€4,837/m²	−2.1%
Santa Maria Maior	Baixa, Alfama, Castelo, Mouraria	€5,000/m²	€6,551/m²	+3.9%
Areeiro		€4,963/m²	€5,666/m²	−6.7%
São Vicente	Graça	€4,954/m²	€6,067/m²	+5.8%
Alcântara		€4,938/m²	€6,508/m²	+2.0%
Arroios		€4,776/m²	€5,819/m²	+3.9%
Lumiar	Telheiras	€4,670/m²	€5,202/m²	+5.5%
Benfica		€4,631/m²	€5,911/m²	+15.0%
Beato		€4,600/m²	€5,000/m²	−1.1%
Carnide		€4,553/m²	€5,391/m²	+14.9%
Penha de França		€4,465/m²	€5,616/m²	+13.9%
Olivais		€4,296/m²	€4,980/m²	+8.5%
Santa Clara		€3,733/m²	€3,939/m²	+4.0%
Lisboa municipality		€5,082/m²	€6,227/m²	+3.2%

On a 100 m² flat, the city median paid is €508,200 and the average asking price €622,700. For a single property, the agent’s recent comparable sales in your street matter more than any average.

Is 2026 a good time to sell in Lisbon?

The evidence points in two directions.

• Sale prices were still rising early in 2026. The INE median was up 15.2% in the 12 months to March 2026.
• Asking prices have stalled. idealista’s Lisbon average peaked at €6,306/m² in April 2026 and has edged down each month since, to €6,227/m² in August. Annual growth slowed from +9.7% in January 2026 to +3.2%.
• The historic centre has gone flat. Santa Maria Maior (−0.5%) and Marvila (−0.4%) were the only parishes where the INE median fell in the 12 months to March 2026, and in 2025 Misericórdia (+3.0%) and Estrela (+2.8%) grew far more slowly than the city. Outer residential parishes rose fastest: Ajuda +23.9%, Penha de França +19.2%, Lumiar +17.5%. This coincides with the end of new short-let registrations in the centre, though no study has tested the link.
• Buyers are still looking. In the RICS/Ci survey for May 2026, Lisbon had a net balance of +17% for new buyer enquiries (Porto −8%, Algarve −10%), while new instructions to sell fell nationally (−19%). Tight supply supports prices.
• Foreign buyers now pay more tax. Since 25 May 2026, buyers not tax resident in Portugal pay a flat 7.5% IMT (property transfer tax) on a home (Decree-Law 97/2026). On a €500,000 flat that is €37,500, against €26,236.65 for a resident buying a main home. The effect on Lisbon has not yet been measured.

The practical reading: price against recent sales, not against the spring 2026 asking peak.

Who is buying in Lisbon?

• Mostly Portuguese buyers. In Lisbon’s urban rehabilitation area (ARU: every parish except Lumiar, Santa Clara and Parque das Nações), 70% of the €2,897.6m spent on homes in 2025 came from domestic buyers (Ci, reported by Vida Imobiliária).
• Foreign buyers pay more. Buyers with a tax domicile abroad paid a median €6,325/m², against €5,000/m² for Portugal-domiciled buyers (INE, 12 months to March 2026): about 26% more. In the ARU, foreigners bought 23% of homes in 2025 (27% in 2024), at an average €631,800.
• Americans lead. By number of foreign purchases in the ARU in 2025: USA 16%, France 11%, Brazil 11%, UK 7%, China 6%, Germany 5%. Foreign buyers favoured Estrela, Arroios, Misericórdia, Santo António and Santa Maria Maior.
• Fewer non-resident buyers overall. Nationally, non-residents bought 8,471 homes in 2025, down 13.3% and the third annual fall (INE).

No source profiles Lisbon sellers. Two national pressures on foreign owners apply: NHR status ends between 2026 and 2029 for people registered from 2016 to 2019 (see NHR ending), and the short-let rules below.

Selling a flat with a short-let (AL) registration

Lisbon’s amended short-let regulation (Regulamento Municipal do Alojamento Local, published as Aviso 29926-A/2025) has been in force since 6 December 2025. It sets two levels of restriction, based on the number of short-let units as a share of permanent homes.

Level	Where	New registrations
Absolute containment (AL ≥ 10% of permanent homes)	Parishes: Santa Maria Maior (66.9%), Misericórdia (43.8%), Santo António (25.1%), São Vicente (16.1%), Arroios (13.5%), Estrela (10.8%). Neighbourhoods: Bom Sucesso, Belém, Ajuda, Alcântara, São Bento, São Sebastião da Pedreira, Picoas, Sapadores, Parque das Nações	None
Relative containment (5% to under 10%)	Avenidas Novas parish; neighbourhoods including Bairro Novo da Memória, Ajuda, Junqueira, Bairro Calvário, Santa Isabel (Campo de Ourique), Arroios (Penha de França), Beato, Marvila, Bairro dos Retornados and Cabo Ruivo	Only by exceptional council authorisation, for 5 years, not renewable while containment lasts

The city as a whole stood at 7.2%; if it reaches 10%, the whole of Lisbon becomes an absolute containment area.

What happens to the registration when you sell. Existing registrations stay valid. But in a containment area, transferring an AL registration for a flat or house (the apartamento and moradia categories) causes it to expire, according to the law-firm notes on the amended regulation (Cuatrecasas, PLMJ, Pares Advogados). The buyer would have to apply afresh: in absolute containment that application cannot succeed; in relative containment it needs exceptional authorisation.

The exceptions come from the national short-let law (Decree-Law 128/2014, article 15-B, as amended by Decree-Law 76/2024). Transfer limits do not apply to:

• inheritance;
• a gift of the unit to a spouse or unmarried partner, children or parents;
• divorce, legal separation or the end of an unmarried partnership.

An ordinary sale to a third party is not on that list. Outside containment areas, Decree-Law 76/2024 (in force 1 November 2024) ended the old rule that a registration lapsed on any transfer, so it can in principle pass with the property. Ask your lawyer to confirm the position for your property before you advertise it as a short-let business.

What this means for your price:

• In the six containment parishes, value the flat as a home, not a business. The buyer cannot normally keep the licence, so a premium for “income-producing” does not hold.
• Small central flats face the widest gap. Many former AL units are small flats in Santa Maria Maior and Misericórdia, where the INE median fell or barely rose.
• Letting is an alternative. idealista asking rents in Lisbon averaged €24.5/m² a month in August 2026 (+7.0% in a year). An 80 m² flat at that level advertises at about €1,960 a month, under the €2,300 cap of the moderate-rent regime, where rental income is taxed at 10% from 2026 to 2029. A registered AL holder can suspend operation for up to 5 years while the flat is let on a lease.
• No AL after a residential lease. The regulation bars a new AL registration where a residential lease existed in the previous 5 years, so a buyer planning short lets must check the flat’s history.

Other Lisbon rules sellers must know

Council right of pre-emption. The Município de Lisboa has a right of first refusal on some sales, because of location in an urban rehabilitation area, heritage protection or a detailed plan. Before the deed, the seller or agent posts the sale terms on the Casa Pronta pre-emption service (€15); public bodies have 10 working days to reply.

Tenant’s right of first refusal. A residential tenant whose lease has run for more than two years can buy on the same terms (Civil Code, article 1091). If the flat is let, tell your lawyer at the start.

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. Buildings constructed before 7 August 1951 do not need a habitation licence. See unlicensed works.

How long does it take to sell in Lisbon?

No credible source publishes days on market for Lisbon city. The nearest figures:

Indicator	Figure	Area	Source
Average time to sell (absorption), Q1 2026	5 months	Lisbon Metropolitan Area	Ci, via KW Alfa
Average discount from asking price, Q1 2026	4.4%	Lisbon Metropolitan Area	Ci, via KW Alfa
Listings with a price cut, Q1 2026	10% (8% a year earlier)	Lisbon city	idealista

Then allow for the CPCV (promissory contract, with a deposit) and the escritura (deed). If you live abroad, you can sign through a power of attorney, notarised and apostilled if signed outside Portugal. See selling as a non-resident.

What does selling in Lisbon 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 €500,000 flat in Lisbon, no mortgage, seller living abroad.

	Commission 5%	Commission 4% (negotiated)
Commission	€25,000	€20,000
VAT on commission (23%)	€5,750	€4,600
Energy certificate (typical)	€250	€250
Land registry certificate	€15	€15
Lawyer, €2,000 plus 23% VAT (illustrative quote)	€2,460	€2,460
Total selling costs	€33,475 (6.7%)	€27,325 (5.5%)
Received at the deed	€466,525	€472,675

One percentage point of commission on this flat is €6,150 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 commission and VAT reduce the gain. If you reinvest the proceeds in Portuguese homes let at up to €2,300 a month, the gain can be excluded (see the rent-reinvestment exemption). See costs of selling, capital gains tax for non-residents and the selling calculator.

How to choose an agent in Lisbon

Lisbon has every major international network, several prime specialists and a few buyer-only agents. Check the agency’s AMI licence on the IMPIC register, ask for recent sales (not listings) in your parish, ask how they will market a former AL flat, and keep an exclusive contract to three to six months. Our list of English-speaking estate agents in Lisbon gives offices, IMPIC-verified licence numbers and segments, without ranking them. For commission and contract terms see estate agent commission. If you are buying again, see buying in Lisbon and buyer’s agents in Lisbon; for the city overview, the Lisbon hub.

Key points

• INE median sale price in Lisbon: €5,082/m² over the 12 months to March 2026 (+15.2%) and €5,292/m² in Q1 2026, the highest in Portugal. idealista asking: €6,227/m² in August 2026, +3.2% a year and falling gently since April.
• Santo António (€6,986/m²) is the most expensive parish; the historic centre’s prices have gone flat while outer parishes rose 15–24%.
• Since 6 December 2025 six parishes are in absolute AL containment. Selling an AL flat there normally ends the registration, so value it as a home.
• In the Lisbon area, homes took about 5 months to sell in Q1 2026, at an average 4.4% below asking.
• On a €500,000 sale, commission at 5% plus VAT is €30,750; at 4% it is €24,600.
• Check council and tenant pre-emption rights and, from 1 October 2026, the habitation licence statement at the deed.