A Record-Breaking Year for New Housing Licences in Portugal

Between January and October of this year, 28,004 new housing units were approved in Portugal—a slight increase of 0.7% compared to the same period last year. This surge in new housing licences coincides with the implementation of the Simplex urban planning reforms introduced by Decree-Law No. 10/2024. The reforms were rolled out in two phases, with some measures taking effect in January and others following in March.

According to ECO, referencing data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), it has been 16 years since the country has seen such high numbers of new housing licences in the first ten months of a year.

Interestingly, during the first quarter, the number of approved licences dropped by 17.6% year-on-year, marking the sharpest quarterly contraction in over a decade. This makes the subsequent rebound even more striking, highlighting the positive impact of the Simplex reforms on urban licensing processes.

In October alone, 3,111 new housing units were approved—a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. Since March, approvals for family homes in new developments have grown at an average monthly rate of 9.5%, showing a sustained upward trend in new housing development across the country.

This data signals a strong recovery in the real estate sector, driven by streamlined licensing processes that are paving the way for increased construction activity in Portugal.

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