Bank valuations of properties in Portugal now stand at €1,192 per square metre across the country with figures from the end of December 2018 showing that average valuations hit a new record of €1,220, the highest value registered since 2008.

This is the twenty first consecutive month that prices of property in Portugal have risen and taking into account the entire year, on average, banking valuations of houses were up by some 6%.

The information, released by the Portuguese Office for National Statistics (INE), confirmed the buoyant state of the housing market which has helped to fuel general economic recovery in the country as a whole.

According to the data, in December, prices increased €5 per square metre in comparison to November, reaching a total of €1,220 per square metre. As for the year on year evolution, the increase was even more significant, with prices rising by 6.1%, a €70 difference. This is the highest value recorded since the first trimester of 2008, a time when the banking valuation of houses stood at precisely the same figure and before the global economic crisis.

Valuations of houses have been on the increase since 2015 and since then there has been a steady monthly rise in property valuations as demand grows and available product reduces.

Looking back at the whole year of 2018, the INE observed that the acceleration of prices could be considered to be “significant”, with the average banking valuation value standing at €1,192 per square metre last year, which represents an increase of 5.8% in comparison to 2017.

In annual terms, “there was an increase in house valuation in all regions of the country, with the Algarve and the north of Portugal showing the most intense increases, at 7.4% and 7.3%, respectively,” the INE shows.

When looking at different types of housing, it was found that there was an increase in house valuation for apartments of 6.1% and 4.7% for single-family houses (€1,249 and €1,095 per square metre, respectively).