The municipality's residential pipeline matches that of Porto, with the same 3,400 homes, and surpasses that of Lisbon, with 2,600 planned units, more than doubling the regional dynamic. On average, 1,500 dwellings per municipality in the Greater Porto region were submitted for licensing in 2024, according to the first data compiled by the Gaia Property Observatory.
Within the municipality, the parish of Canidelo is the most dynamic, with 36% of the homes in the pipeline (1,220), while the União de Freguesias de Mafamude e Vilar do Paraíso also stands out, with 25% (860 homes). The Union of Parishes of Stª Marinha and S. Pedro da Afurada accounts for 16% of the municipality's pipeline (550 dwellings), while the remaining dwellings are distributed between Gaia's inland urban areas (12%, 390 dwellings) and the remaining coastal areas (11%, 360 dwellings).
In terms of the response to this investment, the municipality has approved the licensing of around 1,900 dwellings by 2024, registering an increase in activity in the second half of the year and a licensing rate that doubles the regional average, which was 800 dwellings licensed per municipality.
This is the third year in which Vila Nova de Gaia has established itself as the main destination for investment in new housing in the country, in the context of a market that combines strong demand dynamics and average sales prices around 27% lower than Porto. In 2024, housing transaction prices in the municipality reached 2,372€/m2, compared to 3,256€/m2 in Porto. From another perspective, data from the Gaia Real Estate Observatory shows the impact of attracting investment in housing on the appreciation of the municipality, where the average sale price of new homes in 2024 was 3,735€/m2. This figure almost doubles the price charged for used housing, which reached €1,963/m2 in the same period.
In 2024, 5,900 homes were sold in the municipality, an increase of 20% on the previous year. The market showed a strong recovery in activity throughout the year, with 1,700 homes sold in the 4th quarter, 48% more than the 1,160 sold in the same period last year. Accompanying the upturn in demand, in a trend that was transversal to the whole country, house sale prices in Vila Nova de Gaia intensified in the second half of the year, with quarterly variations of more than 2.0%. This period made up for the restrained behavior of the first two quarters of 2024, when prices went into negative territory (-1.2%). At the end of the year, house sales prices in Gaia were up 4.0% year-on-year.
António Miguel Castro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gaiurb, EM - Urbanismo e Habitação, emphasizes that “Vila Nova de Gaia is consolidating its position as a dynamic and attractive city of the future, where sustainable, healthy and social urban development go hand in hand with the creation of new economic opportunities. The data from the Vila Nova de Gaia Observatory is another clear sign of the municipality's proactive and modern vision, reflecting a firm commitment to intelligent management and informed decision-making.
In an increasingly competitive and fast-paced world, ensuring investor confidence is essential to boosting local economic growth. Vila Nova de Gaia has established itself as a strategic hub for housing investment, and beyond. This dynamic reflects a vision of the future marked by attracting investment, enriching and enhancing our urban space and creating opportunities for our citizens.
Vila Nova de Gaia, through Gaiurb, has invested in the licensing experience to continue consolidating its place as one of the country's main investment destinations, attracting new companies, promoting the well-being of citizens and strengthening investor confidence through active and informed urban management.”
Regarding the Gaia Property Observatory, Ricardo Guimarães, director of Confidencial Imobiliário, believes that this new tool “is an information hub on the dynamics of this municipality, giving all interested parties open access to the main market data. Among other contents, Confidencial Imobiliário has specifically developed a Price Index and a Housing Rent Index to monitor the main trends in the area.”
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
