São Miguel island · report
Buy or rent in São Miguel island
Figures for Portugal: São Miguel island has no reliable figures of its own.
Owning a 90 m² home costs less each month than renting it. Owning counts interest, running costs and the return the deposit could earn, at the median sale price. Repaying the loan is saving, so it is left out.
- Rent per month
- €878
- Owning per month
- €715
Try your own numbers
Starting from INE's median sale price of €2,264/m² and median new-lease rent of 9.8 €/m² a month in Portugal, and a mortgage rate of 3.0%.
Owning costs less each month than renting.
- Rent a month
- €878
- Owning a month, not recovered
- €715
- Interest
- €458
- Running costs
- €170
- Return given up
- €87
- Cash out a month, if buying
- €943
Gross rental yield in Portugal
A year's rent as a share of the sale price, from INE's medians. Higher means rent is dear compared with buying.
Show the numbers
| Period | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 5.2% |
| Q1 2026 | 5.3% |
| Q4 2025 | 5.4% |
| Q3 2025 | 5.5% |
| Q2 2025 | 5.6% |
| Q1 2025 | 5.7% |
| Q4 2024 | 5.7% |
| Q3 2024 | 5.8% |
| Q2 2024 | 5.8% |
| Q1 2024 | 5.8% |
| Q4 2023 | 5.7% |
| Q3 2023 | 5.6% |
| Q2 2023 | 5.6% |
| Q1 2023 | 5.6% |
| Q4 2022 | 5.6% |
| Q3 2022 | 5.6% |
| Q2 2022 | 5.6% |
| Q1 2022 | 5.7% |
| Q4 2021 | 5.8% |
| Q3 2021 | 5.9% |
| Q2 2021 | 5.9% |
| Q1 2021 | 5.9% |
| Q4 2020 | 5.8% |
| Q3 2020 | 5.9% |
| Q2 2020 | 5.9% |
| Q1 2020 | 5.9% |
The comparison counts only the costs of owning you never get back: interest, running costs and what the deposit and purchase costs could earn elsewhere. Loan repayments build equity, so they are left out. So is any rise in the home's value, because nobody knows it in advance.
Other reports for São Miguel island
Asking prices have an 80% chance of landing between €2,318/m² and €3,050/m² by September 2027.
- Expected, September 2027
- €2,684/m²
- Chance of a rise
- 85%
Figures for Portugal: São Miguel island has no reliable figures of its own.
At the bank valuation, a 90 m² home costs €205,020. With 10% down and a 30-year mortgage, the payment is €778 a month. Banco de Portugal caps it at 50% of a household's net income.
- Payment, two incomes
- 31%
- Payment, one income
- 63%
40.2% more homes were licensed for construction in the last 12 months than in an average year of the past decade.
- Licensed, 12 months
- 492
- Per 1,000 residents
- 3.6
Figures for Portugal: São Miguel island has no reliable figures of its own.
Over the last 12 months, buyers domiciled abroad paid 33.5% more per m² than buyers living in Portugal.
- Abroad against residents
- +33.5%
Asking prices have fallen by 3% or more 4 times since 2015. The deepest began in September 2015.
- Deepest fall
- −19.0%
- Recovery from the low
- 43 months
In 2025 the population grew by 575 while 289 homes were finished: 2.0 new residents for every new home.
- New residents per new home, 2025
- 2.0
- Population change, 2025
- +575
11.7% of the 56,663 homes counted in the 2021 census stood empty, whether for sale, to let or for other reasons.
- Empty, 2021 census
- 11.7%
- Empty homes
- 6,629
In 2025, 29% of the buildings finished were work on existing buildings: extensions, alterations and reconstructions.
- Work on existing buildings, 2025
- 29%
- Reconstructions per 100 new buildings
- 0.9
Public bodies signed €17.6M of housing works here in 2025, and €31.3M since 2012.
- Signed in 2025
- €17.6M
- Per resident, 2025
- €127
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