The profile of municipalities compiled by Pordata, the statistics portal of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, on the eve of the municipal elections on October 12, indicates that in 2024, the median prices for the sale of new homes in Porto reached 3,250 euros per square meter. For transactions involving existing homes, this amount decreased to 2,757 euros per square meter.
Considering these figures, a newly constructed property in the city, with an area of 100 square meters, sold for an average of 325,000 euros, while a pre-owned one went for 275,700 euros.
Pordata’s municipal profile reveals that employees in Porto earned an average monthly salary of 1,761.4 euros in 2023, which, when multiplied by 14 monthly payments, amounts to an annual income of 24,659.6 euros.
The term ‘average monthly earnings’ refers to the gross average salary including overtime and allowances.
Thus, someone working in Porto and wishing to purchase a new home would need to save the equivalent of 13.2 years’ salary, a figure that reduces to 11.2 years for a used home.
Among the five municipalities geographically closest to Porto, Maia presents the greatest disparity between employees’ earnings and median house prices, both new and used.
Despite being third, after Porto and Matosinhos, in presenting the highest average monthly earnings, the median house sale price is the fifth highest: 2,333 euros per square meter for new homes and 1,899 euros per square meter for used ones.
Within the group of considered municipalities, the best-paid workers are in the municipality of Porto (1,761.4 euros monthly), followed by those in Matosinhos (1,600.7 euros) and Maia (1,524.7 euros).
The average monthly earnings in Vila Nova de Gaia is the fourth highest (1,392.3 euros), ahead of Trofa (1,342.4 euros) and Espinho (1,244.2 euros).
Furthermore, the highest median house sale price is found in the municipality of Porto, ahead of Matosinhos (3,064 euros per square meter for new properties and 2,387 euros per square meter for used ones).
It is followed by Vila Nova de Gaia (2,564 euros and 1,912 euros, respectively), Espinho (2,505 euros and 2,315 euros), Maia (2,333 euros and 1,899 euros), and finally Trofa (1,566 euros and 1,446 euros).
Therefore, if a new 100-square-meter home in Maia costs 233,300 euros and a used one 189,900 euros, purchasing a property in the municipality would require, for someone working there, an amount equivalent to 10.9 years and 8.9 years of annual salaries, respectively.
In both cases, buying a house in Maia would require two fewer years of salary than in Porto.
Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto are the municipalities with the highest number of residents among those considered. Gaia has 312,984 inhabitants and is the third most populous nationwide, only surpassed by Lisbon (575,739 people) and Sintra (400,947). Porto ranks fourth, with 252,687 residents.
The municipalities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia also employ the most people among the analyzed municipalities. Porto has 119,258 workers, while Gaia has 56,955. Espinho employs the fewest, with 4,663 people.
The housing crisis has been the central theme among candidates in the municipal elections in the Greater Porto area, as well as in other coastal regions of the country, alongside mobility and urban hygiene.
