Madeirans have long struggled to find a home they can afford. A common view in the debate on housing is that the crisis comes and goes in cycles. A fact-check by the Madeira newspaper DIÁRIO, published on 30 October 2026, tested that idea against decades of its own reporting and official data. It found that the problem has changed over time, but it has never fully gone away.
High prices, rents and a shortage of affordable homes are not new topics, the newspaper notes. They did not start with the pandemic or with the growth of tourism. For the research, reporter Élvio Passos went back through DIÁRIO's archive, mainly from the start of regional autonomy. He also used census figures and data from the Regional Statistics Office of Madeira (DREM).
The aim was not only to find old reports of housing shortages. It was also to see what happened in the periods when people believed the problem had been solved.
In April 1990, Jardim Called Housing One of Madeira's Worst Social Problems
In April 1990, Alberto João Jardim, then head of the regional government, named the lack of housing as one of the most serious social problems in Madeira.
Two years later, DIÁRIO reported on empty houses that were still not being offered for rent. Even then, a shortage of homes and empty properties existed side by side. The same is true today.
October 2003: Jardim Declares Housing Problem Solved at 59 Caniço Apartments
Over the following years, public and private building changed the situation. In October 2003, Jardim opened 59 apartments in Caniço. At the ceremony, he said the problem he had called the region's most serious 25 years earlier was now solved: the lack of decent housing.
The claim had some basis. According to the 2021 census, more than half of all buildings in Madeira were built after 1980. But the fact-check draws a clear line between two things. Better living conditions did not mean that everyone could buy or rent a home.
Months Later, the 2001 Census Counted About 10,000 Empty Homes
In February 2004, only a few months after Jardim's statement, DIÁRIO reported that Madeira had about 10,000 empty houses. The figure came from the 2001 census.
The same report described run-down homes and families who still needed help. Once again, empty homes stood next to people who could not find one.
March 2015: After the Financial Crisis, Families Feared Losing Their Homes
The economic and financial crisis brought a different kind of problem. In March 2015, DIÁRIO reported on a political proposal to protect families who could not pay their home loans.
For some people, the worry was no longer finding a house. It was losing the one they had because they could not pay the bank. That fear came on top of the problems faced by people who were still looking for a home.
From 2018, Warnings Grew About the Cost of Buying and Renting
A few years later, prices became the main concern. In 2018 and 2019, articles in DIÁRIO warned about the cost of buying and renting.
In January 2020, before the pandemic, political parties such as the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) criticised the regional government's spending on housing. They said it did not do enough to meet the needs of families.
Census 2021: 13.7% of Madeira's 131,187 Homes Stood Empty
The census data adds to the picture. In 2021, Madeira had 131,187 dwellings, and 13.7% of them were empty.
Between 2011 and 2021, the number of people living on the island fell. But the number of households grew. Fewer residents did not mean fewer families needing a home.
Median Home Price Reached 2,500 Euros Per Square Metre in 2025
Meanwhile, homes kept getting more expensive. According to DREM, the median price of homes sold in the region in 2025 was 2,500 euros per square metre, 4.4% more than the year before.
Renting was also costly. In new rental contracts, the median rent reached 11.33 euros per square metre.
The Problem Changed From Poor Housing to Loans and Prices
The fact-check finds important differences between today's problems and those of 30 or 40 years ago. In the first decades of autonomy, the main issue was a lack of decent homes. Later, loans became the main worry, and most recently, the cost of buying and renting.
There was also real progress. New homes were built, many cases of poor housing disappeared, and the quality of homes improved. What the research did not find was a regular pattern of crisis followed by periods when all the problems disappeared.
Fact-Check Verdict: The "Cyclical Crisis" Claim Is Rated Inaccurate
DIÁRIO's conclusion was direct:
"The claim that the housing crisis in Madeira is cyclical is rated as inaccurate."
DIÁRIO, fact-check by Élvio Passos
There were several periods of difficulty, with important improvements between them, the newspaper wrote. But there is no evidence that these crises return on a regular basis. The problem has changed over the decades, and no one can say it ever went away completely.
Source: dnoticias.pt
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