Pedro Nunez/Reuters
Statistics show that rents in Portugal’s capital Lisbon have increased by 65% since 2015, while sales prices have soared by 137%.
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Reuters
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Thousands of people took to the streets in Lisbon and other cities across Portugal on Saturday to protest soaring rent and house prices as high inflation makes it increasingly difficult for people to make ends meet.
“Today there is a massive housing crisis,” Rita Silva of the housing group Habita said at a protest in Lisbon. “This is a social emergency.”
Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe, with more than 50% of workers earning less than 1,000 euros ($1,084) a month last year, according to government data. The monthly minimum wage is 760 euros ($826).
Rents in Lisbon, a popular tourist destination, have increased by 65% since 2015, while sales prices have soared by 137% in the same period, according to figures from Confidential Immobiliario, which collects housing data. Rent prices rose 37% last year alone, outpacing Barcelona and Paris, according to Casafari, another real estate data company.
The situation is particularly difficult for young people.
According to research by housing portal Imovirtual, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Lisbon is around 1,350 euros.
Rita Franca/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Thousands of people demonstrated in Porto, Portugal’s northwestern city, on Saturday demanding the right to fair and accessible housing and an end to real estate speculation.
The Socialist government announced housing policies last month, including scrapping the controversial “golden visa” scheme and banning new licenses for Airbnb properties, but critics say they are not enough to bring down prices in the short term. points out.
At a protest organized by groups such as the Home to Live movement, 35-year-old illustrator Diogo Guerra said he hears every day stories of people struggling to access housing.
“People who are working but are homeless, people who are being evicted because their homes have been turned into short-term accommodation (for tourists),” he said.
Low wages and high rents make Lisbon the third least liveable city in the world, according to a study by insurance broker CIA Landlord. Portugal’s current inflation rate is 8.2%, further exacerbating the problem.
“With my salary, which is higher than the average salary in Lisbon, I can’t afford to rent an apartment because it’s too expensive,” said Nuncio Renzi, an Italian sales executive living in the capital.