Housing in Numbers

Free book · digital edition

Homes for Whom?

The housing crisis in Portugal

A book to explain Portugal’s housing crisis to a friend without slogans: what the numbers say, who decided what and when, and what remains unproven.

  • 60 pages
  • PDF, A5 format
  • English
  • Data up to 25 October 2026
Get the free book →Ler em português
Cover of the book Homes for Whom? The Housing Crisis in Portugal, by Jorge Alexandre Pereira.
10chapters
10charts with official data
55source notes
€0free download

About the book

In 2002, Portugal completed 125,708 new homes. In 2015, just 7,148. When demand returned, more strongly than anyone expected, the homes were not there. This book tells that story: a country that stopped building, and demand that grew fast, both domestic and foreign.

For every accusation heard in the public debate, it asks three questions: what do the numbers say, who took the decision and when, and what remains unproven.

It relies mainly on public data from INE (Statistics Portugal), the Banco de Portugal, AIMA, Eurostat and the IMF, with the sources given under each chart and in the notes. It criticises PS, PSD and CDS governments, and the current one too.

It adds what the site does not have: the experience of someone who works in property in the Algarve, a whole chapter on the region, the sums of a well-paid couple who still cannot buy, and ten proposals from the author.

What you will find

  1. The home that disappearedFrom 125,708 new homes in 2002 to 7,148 in 2015, and a recovery that falls short.
  2. A decade of running away from wagesPrices and rents against wages. A bubble or a shortage of homes?
  3. Foreign buyers: myths and numbersNon-residents, resident foreign nationals, and who really weighs on the market.
  4. The NHR regime and the Golden VisaThe right timeline, and what can and cannot be attributed to each government.
  5. A million new neighboursImmigration and housing told with arithmetic, not adjectives.
  6. Building became expensiveMaterials, labour, the war with Iran, taxes and red tape.
  7. The other piecesTourism and short-term rentals, interest rates, public housing, demand subsidies and empty homes.
  8. The view from the AlgarvePrices, non-resident buyers and the sums of people who work in the region.
  9. Who is responsible?Government by government, what each one did on demand and on supply.
  10. What could workTen proposals from the author, starting with the supply of homes.

Look inside

Page 8 of the book: the start of chapter 1, "The home that disappeared", with the chart of new homes completed each year from 1995 to 2025.Page 9 of the book: chapter 1 continued.
Chapter 1, "The home that disappeared" (pages 8 and 9).
Page 42 of the book: the start of chapter 8, "The view from the Algarve", with the chart of median prices per square metre.Page 43 of the book: the share of non-resident buyers in the Algarve and in Portugal.
Chapter 8, "The view from the Algarve" (pages 42 and 43).

The author

Portrait of Jorge Alexandre Pereira, seated, wearing a dark blue jacket and white shirt, against a dark background.

Jorge Alexandre Pereira

Born in Angola in 1973, he grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, where he graduated in Tourism Management. He lived and worked in several countries, including a long period in Ukraine, before returning to Portugal. He lives in the Algarve.

He has worked in property since 2015. Since 2018 he has been with an international estate agency operating in the upper quartile of the Algarve market, where he led sales and marketing and is now COO. In this book he signs, in a personal capacity, the research, the writing and the data analysis.

He speaks Portuguese, French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian. Photography is one of his passions. Read the declaration of interests.

The book and the site

The book tells the story, in the first person and with signed opinions. The site is the reference for the data: interactive charts, downloadable datasets, the source library, the verification log and corrections. When a figure is revised, the revision appears on the site first. Read the investigation online.

Get the book for free

Mock-up of the book Homes for Whom?, standing upright with the cover in view.
  • The full PDF, in English (60 pages, A5).
  • A personal link by email, valid for 30 days.
  • No cost and no obligation.
  • Your details are never used for sales contact.

This is where we send the link to download the book.

With the country code, for example +44 7700 900123.

Property in Portugal

Only to understand who reads the book. It is never used for sales contact.

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Your data

Your details are stored on this site, in a record that only the author can access. They are used to send you the book and, if you asked for it, news about the investigation. They are not sold or shared with anyone and are not used for sales contact, including the author's property work.

They are kept for up to 24 months after your last request and then deleted automatically. You can ask at any time for a copy of your details or for them to be deleted, by replying to the email you will receive or writing to jorge@algarve.life. Privacy policy

Frequently asked questions

Is the book really free?

Yes. There is no payment and no obligation. We ask for your details to send you the link and to understand who reads the book.

Why do you ask for my phone and whether I own property in Portugal?

To understand who the readers are: where they are from, where they live and how they relate to the housing market. These details are not used for sales contact or shared with anyone.

Which language will I receive?

The language of this page. Here you receive the English edition; on the Portuguese page you receive Casas para Quem?.

I have not received the email. What should I do?

Check your spam or promotions folder. If it is not there, fill in the form again and we will send a new link. You can also write to jorge@algarve.life.

My link no longer works.

The link is personal and works for 30 days, for up to 20 downloads. After that, simply request the book again.

Can I share the book?

You can share this page with anyone. Each person receives their own link.

How do I delete my details?

Reply to the email you received or write to jorge@algarve.life. Your details will be deleted and you will receive no further messages.