Tens of thousands march in Portuguese cities against surging home prices

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched through more than 30 cities and towns across Portugal on Saturday in the largest protest yet against soaring housing costs that many say have put buying or renting a home beyond their reach.

The housing crisis has fueled weeks of demonstrations. Some activists have camped in central squares in Lisbon and Porto, the country’s two largest cities. Riot police with dogs have dispersed some protests, drawing accusations of heavy-handed tactics.

The demonstrations took inspiration from protests that began in neighboring Spain last month over similar housing concerns. They come amid widespread social unrest across Europe this autumn.

Marching under the slogan “We won’t let them steal our right to housing,” participants ranged from teenagers to retirees. Drums, music and chants accompanied the Lisbon march as protesters carried large banners and flags.

Susana Pacheco, a 35-year-old data analyst who works part-time as an astrologer to help pay her mortgage, said she worried about whether her younger sister could afford to move out of their parents’ home.

“I’m really worried about young people,” Pacheco said. “I don’t know how they’re going to be able to pay” for their own home.

“Things have become intolerable,” said Ana Encarnação, 42, citing rising living costs and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Activists want ceilings placed on rent increases, greater legal protection for tenants against eviction, and more affordable housing.

House prices in Portugal have risen much faster than incomes, statistics show.

Between 2015 and 2025, Portugal posted the biggest jump in the European Union in the home price-to-income ratio, with an increase of 61%, followed by the Netherlands with 34%, the EU statistical office Eurostat said last week.

There is no indication that the rise in housing costs is slowing. Between the first quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2026, housing prices rose by almost 20%, the National Statistics Institute, a government agency, said last month.

Rental prices, too, have climbed significantly, recording a 68% increase since 2020, according to the government.

Foreign buyers and investment funds have fueled price rises by buying Portuguese real estate. The country’s mild climate and long coastline have helped it grow popular with digital nomads and other remote workers, as well as retirees. Tourism has also surged, with many city center apartments switched to short-term rentals.

The government has responded with measures such as lowering taxes on new construction, restricting short-term rentals and promising to build 145,000 new homes. But it acknowledges that the effects won’t be immediate.

Portuguese President António José Seguro, whose role is mostly ceremonial but who wields political influence, convened a Council of State, an advisory body, to discuss the protests earlier this month and met Friday with some of the protesters.

AP reporter Helena Alves in Lisbon contributed to this story.

A woman carrying a giant red carnation marches with tens of thousands of protestors in a demonstration to demand affordable housing, in downtown Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

A woman carrying a giant red carnation marches with tens of thousands of protestors in a demonstration to demand affordable housing, in downtown Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

A protestor holds a sign reading "Fight like Maricarmen" referring to the 87-year old woman whose fight against eviction drew attention to the housing crisis in Spain, during a demonstration to demand affordable housing, in downtown Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

A protestor carries a map of Portugal with the real estate agency advertising slogan "It's Gone", during a demonstration to demand affordable housing, in downtown Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Bubbles float in the air as protestors dance and chant slogans during a demonstration to demand affordable housing, in downtown Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Protestors carry a poster featuring photos of Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas, from left, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and Interior Minister Luis Neves, during a demonstration to demand affordable housing, in downtown Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, hospital officials said.

Meanwhile, Iranian state TV reported that three oil tankers struck Iranian naval mines and caught fire around the Strait of Hormuz in the latest attack on shipping moving through the Persian Gulf.

Here are the latest developments from the Middle East on Saturday. Read our full coverage here.

The drone struck two Palestinians walking down a street in Jabaliya, on the northern edge of Gaza City, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the casualties were taken.

The American field hospital said several other people were wounded but did not provide a number.

Asked about the attack, the Israeli military said it had struck two Hamas militants in the area.

Near-daily Israeli fire and airstrikes have continued in Gaza more than a year after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal.

At least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says women and children make up around half the dead.

Dozens of mourners gathered in Jabaliya in northern Gaza on Saturday evening to honor 70 people killed during the war whose remains were recovered in recent weeks from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes.

More than a dozen families had been waiting for their loved ones’ remains to be found. Draped in Palestinian flags, the remains were laid out for the ceremony as relatives placed candles on them and gathered to say their final goodbyes.

Among the mourners was Wael al-Dibs, whose wife and other relatives had been recovered. The remains of his 3-year-old daughter have yet to be found.

Mahmoud Nabhan lost 16 relatives, including children and grandchildren, when his home was struck early in the war. The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has since killed more than 74,600 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

Three oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire around the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV reported, citing statements from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian Navy.

Two tankers were hit inside the strait, while a third was burning east of the chokepoint, the report said. It gave no details about casualties, the tankers’ nationalities or their destinations.

The Guard and the Navy warned that ships using routes through the strait without Iran’s approval would face a similar fate.

Iran has been attacking oil tankers and other shipping in the strait to drive up global energy prices during its war with the United States. The U.S. has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports that has severely disrupted Iran’s economy.

October recorded the highest number of incidents involving commercial ships in the contested waters since the war began in February.

This report will be updated throughout the day with the latest developments.

Women sit on a bench overlooking cargo ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Mourners grieve during a vigil in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, for Palestinians whose remains were recovered from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza. (AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)

Women sit on a bench overlooking cargo ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

People sit on rocks along the shore as cargo ships lie at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, early Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Mourners grieve during a vigil in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, for Palestinians whose remains were recovered from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza, ahead of their burial Sunday.(AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)

Mourners grieve during a vigil in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, for Palestinians whose remains were recovered from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza, ahead of their burial Sunday.(AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)

A woman holds an Iranian flag during a mass funeral for 110 unidentified Iranian soldiers killed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, whose remains were recently recovered from former battlefields, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Women mourn around the flag-draped coffins of unidentified Iranian soldiers whose remains were recently recovered from former battlefields of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war during a mass funeral for 110 soldiers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An injured child is treated at the Al-Aqsa Hospital, following an Israeli military strike in eastern Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)