How to find a home worth buying in Madeira: municipality price first

Can a foreigner buy property in Madeira?

Yes, land and building, on the same terms as a Portuguese citizen. No nationality test, approval or quota was found for private residential purchases. What changes the tax is tax residence, not nationality. Buying property no longer gives a golden visa: new applications through real estate stopped on 7 October 2023.

A non-resident needs a NIF, the Portuguese tax number, and either signs up for electronic tax notifications or appoints a tax representative; confirm which applies with a lawyer. Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal, so the same ownership rules apply. Rules in full: can foreigners buy property in Portugal. Hiring someone to search for you: a buyer's agent in Portugal.

What do Madeira homes actually sell for per m²?

EUR 2,578 per m² was the median sale price across the Autonomous Region of Madeira over the 12 months to March 2026, by Statistics Portugal. The middle half sat between EUR 1,509 and EUR 3,619. By municipality, from EUR 1,331 in São Vicente on the north coast to EUR 3,322 in Funchal.

Calheta shows why the range matters: its median is EUR 1,722, but a quarter of its homes sold above EUR 2,905. Sale prices, not asking prices: Madeira property prices.

What is the price per m² in Funchal?

EUR 3,322 per m² over the 12 months to March 2026, with the middle half of sales between EUR 2,128 and EUR 4,400. In the first quarter of 2026 alone it was EUR 3,601, 23% higher than a year earlier. Funchal is also where most sales happen: about 1,090 of the roughly 2,900 homes sold in Madeira in those 12 months.

A price rising that fast makes last year's comparables stale quickly, so check a Funchal listing against recent sales, not an old median. Use the gross private area on the caderneta predial, which is what the statistics measure, rather than a listing's usable area.

Do buyers from abroad pay more in Madeira?

Per m², yes. In Funchal, buyers with a tax address abroad paid a median EUR 4,335 per m² over the 12 months to March 2026, against EUR 3,220 for buyers based in Portugal. Across Madeira in the first quarter of 2026 it was EUR 3,295 against EUR 2,810. That gap does not prove overpayment: buyers from abroad tend to buy newer homes with a sea view.

The statistics cannot separate the home from the buyer, so the unit itself has to be checked against comparable homes in its own area. Above the top of its municipality's middle half, a home is in the dearest quarter of sales there and needs a reason: the view, the position, a recent build.

What does it cost a non-resident to buy in Madeira?

Since 25 May 2026 a non-resident buying a home in Portugal pays a flat 7.5% IMT on the whole price, plus 0.8% stamp duty, with no VAT on a home bought subject to IMT. If the buyer becomes tax-resident within two years, or lets the home at a moderate rent for at least 36 months in the first five years, they can ask for the difference down to the normal bands back.

The band table on the costs page is the mainland one, so ask the notary or lawyer to confirm the figures that apply to a Madeira purchase. One market source puts legal fees at 1.25% to 2.00% and notary fees at 0.90% to 1.20%; ask for a quote. A buyer resident in a listed tax haven pays a flat 10%. Bands and refund rules: Portugal property buying costs.

How do estate agents in Madeira charge?

Portuguese law sets no rate. The commission is whatever the written mediation contract says, and the agency's client pays. An agency may not take a fee from both sides of the same deal, so an agency you have not signed with cannot charge you. One market source says the seller normally pays the agent's 3% to 6%.

VAT is 23% on the mainland; the Azores and Madeira may set lower rates, so check the VAT line on the contract. Money you hand an agency before the deal or the CPCV is held for you and must be returned when you ask. Agencies need a licence from IMPIC, the state regulator, and liability insurance of at least EUR 150,000; the licence can be searched online. Details: Portugal real estate agent fees.

What are the steps to buy in Madeira, and can you let it?

The same as on the mainland. Get a NIF, sign the CPCV with a deposit reported as typically 5% to 10%, check the land registry, sign the deed before a notary or at Casa Pronta, and register. Holiday letting means registering as an Alojamento Local, with civil liability insurance, where the municipality allows new registrations.

Under the CPCV, a buyer who withdraws without legal cause loses the deposit; a seller who withdraws returns double. Since Decreto-Lei 76/2024, each municipality sets its own containment areas where new short-let registrations are limited, and parish lists change by council decision. Steps in full: can foreigners buy property in Portugal.

Agent, portals or independent research in Madeira?

Each does a different job. The portals show asking prices. A licensed agency finds homes, books viewings and runs the sale; a buyer's agent you hire searches for you. A lawyer checks the registry and the CPCV. Brinkman Data decides which home is worth buying: every listing in your municipality and budget, each checked against comparable sales, the five worth buying and the spreadsheet, for $499.

Brinkman Data is not an agent, takes no commission and is paid only by the buyer. Every report is built fresh on the homes for sale that week. See a real report, the comparison on how to find a property to buy abroad, and what an independent property analyst does. Mainland Portugal: how to find a property to buy in Lisbon.

Header photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.