Housing Barometer
The first Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos Barometer focuses on the housing crisis in Portugal, providing unprecedented data on housing conditions, perceptions and the expectations of the people living in Portugal on the matter.
The Barometer, which surveyed a representative sample of the Portuguese population (over 1000 people), reveals, among other things, that:
• 6 in every 10 people find it difficult to meet monthly housing expenses;
• 1 out of 9 people believe they are at risk of losing their house in the next 5 years;
• 1 out of 4 people has had important life decisions conditioned by housing issues, namely relocating, leaving their parents' house or having children of their own.
Although 81% of respondents say they are satisfied with their housing situation, this barometer reveals a distressing reality regarding the housing crisis is Portugal.
Affordability is a genuine concern throughout the report, reflecting the steep 90% rise in housing prices from 2015 to 2022, according to Eurostat. Still, when asked how much housing prices had surged in this time period, 71% of respondents gave a number that was below the real value. More than half find affordability to be one of the most decisive factors when picking a home, coming in first when ranked among others.
Meanwhile, construction quality only ranks in fourth place, meaning that people seem likely to forego infrastructural issues when choosing where to live.
This is especially concerning when over two thirds find that their houses need urgent repairs or improvements, the most commonly mentioned reasons being the installation of new windows and/or doors with thermal insulation (15.1%), repairing water damage or other humidity-related issues (10.7%), and painting the walls (9.9%).
The results also reveal serious issues of insecurity. One in every nine is afraid of losing the house they live in. Out of these people, half are worried that their rent might be increased, while one quarter fear they might be evicted by their landlord. Additionally, one in every three is afraid they might not have anywhere to go if they had to leave their current home, meaning they have no means to rent or buy another place, nor anyone to turn to.
It comes as no surprise that young people seem to be the most affected by the housing crisis. Portugal is one of the countries in the European Union where young people take the longest to leave their parents’ homes – on average, only at the age of 30 – according to Eurostat data from 2022.
Download the full report (Portuguese version) and find out more about citizens’ living conditions and preferred public policies to deal with this issue.