Buying a home in Lisbon
Lisbon is Portugal’s most expensive city, and since May 2026 buyers living abroad pay more tax. Know the real numbers before you view a single flat.
Updated 28 September 2026
€5,292per m², median sale priceJanuary to March 2026
+17.8%in a yearcompared with early 2025
8,095homes soldin the 12 months to March 2026
26.5%more per m²paid by buyers taxed abroad
Source: INE, Statistics Portugal, prices of homes actually sold, not asking prices. Homes sold and the gap for buyers taxed abroad cover the 12 months to March 2026.
Prices by parish
What a square metre costs across Lisbon
More than €3,200 a square metre separates the cheapest parish, Santa Clara, from the dearest, Santo António. The dark line marks the 12-month city median of €5,082.
| Parish | Median price per m² | Change in a year |
|---|---|---|
| Santo António | +17.3% | |
| Parque das Nações | +22.6% | |
| Avenidas Novas | +20.9% | |
| Campo de Ourique | +11.6% | |
| Misericórdia | +10.9% | |
| Estrela | +6.4% | |
| Belém | +14.1% | |
| Campolide | +9.3% | |
| São Domingos de Benfica | +19.8% | |
| Ajuda | +23.9% | |
| Alvalade | +4.4% | |
| Marvila | -0.4% | |
| Santa Maria Maior | -0.5% | |
| Areeiro | +5.8% | |
| São Vicente | +7.2% | |
| Alcântara | +8.8% | |
| Arroios | +14.0% | |
| Lumiar | +17.5% | |
| Benfica | +15.3% | |
| Beato | +9.2% | |
| Carnide | +6.0% | |
| Penha de França | +19.2% | |
| Olivais | +16.1% | |
| Santa Clara | +7.4% |
Median of homes sold, April 2025 to March 2026. Source: INE, Statistics Portugal.
Neighbourhoods
Where people buy, and what it’s like
Alfama
Lisbon’s oldest quarter, all cobbled lanes and steep stairs. Lovely to live in, harder with heavy shopping or a buggy.
€5,000 per m² in Santa Maria MaiorBaixa and Chiado
Grand streets rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, with Chiado, the city’s long-standing upmarket district, right next door.
€5,000 per m² in Santa Maria MaiorPríncipe Real
Mansions, antique shops and garden squares, partly in Santo António, the parish with Lisbon’s highest sale prices.
€6,986 per m² in Santo AntónioCampo de Ourique
Once the city’s edge, which gave Lisbon the saying “résvés Campo de Ourique”, by a whisker. Now its own parish.
€5,979 per m² in Campo de OuriqueLapa and Estrela
Lapa, Santos and Madragoa all sit in Estrela parish, where prices rose 6.4% last year, slower than most of Lisbon.
€5,833 per m² in EstrelaBelém
The riverside home of the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, both UNESCO World Heritage, and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos.
€5,498 per m² in BelémParque das Nações
Built for Expo 98, with modern flats, a riverside park of about 90 hectares and the Oriente train station.
€6,407 per m² in Parque das NaçõesAlvalade
A neighbourhood the city planned in the 1940s for 45,000 residents, where prices rose just 4.4% last year.
€5,041 per m² in Alvalade
Buying costs
What you’ll pay on top of the price
Taxes and fees paid when you buy, using the 2026 rates. Add your lawyer’s fee, usually 1% to 2% of the price plus VAT, and bank costs if you borrow.
- Transfer tax (IMT)
- €37,500
- Stamp Duty, 0.8%
- €4,000
- Deed and registration
- €375
- Total on top of the price
- €41,875 8.4% of the price
If you live abroad when you buy, transfer tax is usually a flat 7.5%. It doesn’t apply if you’ve been tax resident in Portugal before. Become tax resident within two years and you can apply, within six months, to get the difference back.
Rates from the IMT and Stamp Duty codes on the Portal das Finanças and Casa Pronta fees from the Ministry of Justice, checked 28 September 2026. It leaves out the 0.6% Stamp Duty on a mortgage loan, notary fees if you don’t use Casa Pronta, and the under-35 exemption on a first home. Tax is charged on the higher of the price and the property’s tax value. A guide, not tax advice: confirm your figure with your lawyer.
Step by step
From first viewing to your keys
Most purchases take 30 to 90 days from promissory contract to deed. Cash buyers can sometimes finish in a few weeks.
- 01
Get a tax number (NIF)
You need one to buy. Any foreigner can get a NIF, in person at a tax office or online through a lawyer with power of attorney.
- 02
Open a Portuguese bank account
It makes paying the deposit, taxes and bills far easier. Banks usually ask for ID, your NIF, proof of address and proof of income.
- 03
Choose an agency and a lawyer
An agency works for whoever hires it. A lawyer or solicitor works for you and checks the property’s paperwork before you commit.
- 04
Check the property’s papers
Ask for the land registry certificate (certidão permanente), the tax record (caderneta predial) and the energy certificate, which every sale needs.
- 05
Sign the promissory contract
The CPCV fixes the price and dates, with a deposit of 10% to 20%. Back out and the seller keeps it. If they back out, you can claim double.
- 06
Arrange your mortgage
Banco de Portugal limits loans to 90% of the value for your own home and 80% for anything else. Banks often lend non-residents 60% to 70%.
- 07
Pay the taxes and sign the deed
Your lawyer arranges the IMT and Stamp Duty payments. You sign the deed at a notary, with a lawyer, or at a registry’s Casa Pronta desk.
- 08
After you own it
Living outside the EU or EEA? Within 15 days, appoint a tax representative or sign up for electronic tax notices. Lisbon charges IMI of 0.3% of the tax value a year.
Lisbon estate agents
28 licensed agencies, checked
Every agency on our list holds an AMI licence we found in the official register. These three have the strongest Google reviews of the agencies we list.
Compare all 28- 1
JPVA Real Estate GroupKeller Williams office - 2
Petro DomusPetro Domus office - 3
ERA Avenidas Novas / BaixaERA office
Residency
Buying a home won’t get you a visa
The Golden Visa property routes closed on 7 October 2023, and buying a home no longer leads to residency on its own. If you’re moving to Lisbon, the usual routes are the D7 visa, for people living on their own income, and the digital nomad visa, for people working remotely for employers or clients abroad.
Timing matters for tax. Become tax resident within two years of buying and you can apply, within six months of becoming resident, to get back the difference between the 7.5% non-resident IMT and the normal rates.
Questions
Questions about buying in Lisbon
How much does a flat in Lisbon cost?
Homes in Lisbon sold for a median of €5,292 per square metre in early 2026, according to INE. A 70 m² two-bedroom flat at that price is about €370,440, though prices run from about €3,733 per m² in Santa Clara to €6,986 in Santo António.
How much tax do I pay buying in Lisbon as a foreigner?
If you live abroad when you buy a home, transfer tax is usually a flat 7.5% of the price, plus 0.8% Stamp Duty. On a €500,000 flat that’s €41,500 before deed and registration fees. Residents buying their own home pay less.
Are Lisbon prices still rising?
Yes. Homes sold in January to March 2026 went for 17.8% more per m² than a year earlier, and 15.2% more over the full 12 months to March. Two parishes, Marvila and Santa Maria Maior, dipped slightly.
Do I need a lawyer to buy in Lisbon?
It isn’t legally required, but most foreign buyers use one. Lawyers usually charge 1% to 2% of the price or a fixed fee, plus VAT, and they can sign the deed with you.
Want an agency that knows your part of Lisbon?
Tell us where you want to buy and your budget. We’ll introduce you to one or two licensed agencies that know that market. It’s free.