If you visit Portugal’s most popular property search engine and look for a one-bedroom flat in Lisbon, you’ll find nothing cheaper than a twenty-five square meter (eighty-two square foot) studio for €700 a month. There’s barely any space around the bed, and even less in the bathroom. An ever-so-slightly larger flat in the same area goes for €800 a month; in return for the extra five square meters (16.4 square feet) you’ll get little natural light, and the bedroom is entirely windowless. You’ll also be on the ground floor, at the mercy of street noise, and losing all privacy were you to open a window on one of Lisbon’s hot summer nights.

Both these flats are considered “bargains” by those offering them because of their location, relatively good condition, and price. But with Lisbon’s average salaries at just under €1,500 a month, each listing demands devoting half of one’s earnings to securing shelter alone. That’s without the cost of amenities such as electricity, water, and internet. In fact, Eurostat figures show that renting a one-bedroom apartment in the capital (not including the tourism-inflated prices of the old city center) demands on average 63 percent of a Lisboner’s wages. In London, a city infamous for its extortionate housing costs, the number is closer to 40 percent.

The same shocking phenomenon is witnessed in most of Portugal’s cities — and it’s getting worse. Shortly after Christmas, a survey by real estate agency Imovirtual found that tenancies had risen nearly 50 percent between 2021 and 2022. The average rent in the capital is now at over €2,000 a month. In the city of Évora, an hour and a half south of Lisbon, rents had soared 127.3 percent in just twelve months. They’re now around €1,355 monthly. Meanwhile, Portugal has the tenth-lowest average income of the European Union, with the typical full-time worker earning €1,600 a month before taxes. Minimum wage is €760 a month. You don’t need to be an economist to realize the math doesn’t add up.