The increase in house prices in Portugal in the fourth quarter of 2015 was the sixth largest among all Eurozone countries. The National Statistics Institute (INE) showed that the prices of houses in Portugal increased 5 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year. The country’s results outstripped the regional average growth of 2.9 percent for the Eurozone and 3.8 percent in the European Union. Only five countries recorded increases higher than in Portugal: Germany (6.1 percent), Estonia (5.1 percent), Ireland (6.6 percent), Latvia and Austria (6.4 percent). In comparison to Q3 price levels, residential price rose 1.2 percent. INE reports that housing prices have reached the highest level since 2011. There were 107,302 transactions in the last three months of the year, a 27.4 percent increase compared to 2014.
