100,000 young people bought their first home with no deposit. Here's how they did it.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Monday, 18 May. Twenty degrees, partly cloudy. The jacarandas on Largo do Carmo are in full bloom. And for once, the housing story is not about what's broken.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 22 (Good).

🗞️ TOP STORY

100,000 YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT THEIR FIRST HOME WITH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT IN 18 MONTHS. HERE'S HOW.

Housing Minister Miguel Pinto Luz told parliament this week that 100,000 "non-wealthy" young people aged 18 to 35 have purchased their first home exempt from IMT and stamp duty under the government's youth housing package since it launched in late 2024, with a significant portion also leveraging the state's 15% mortgage guarantee scheme. That is roughly 185 first-time buyers per day, every day, for a year and a half.

The package has two parts. First, the tax exemptions: IMT (property transfer tax) and stamp duty are fully waived for properties up to €316,272, with partial exemptions up to €633,453. Second, the mortgage guarantee: the state guarantees 15% of the property value, effectively replacing the deposit that banks require. This enables 100% financing, meaning the buyer pays nothing upfront. The guarantee is valid for 10 years. If the buyer defaults, the state covers the 15% and the bank recovers the rest through the property. The maximum property value for the guarantee is €450,000.

The detail that matters most for readers of this newsletter: the scheme is open to anyone aged 18-35 with tax residency in Portugal. You do not need to be Portuguese. If you are a tax resident, you qualify, regardless of nationality. Your annual income must not exceed the 8th IRS bracket (approximately €81,000). You cannot already own property. And the property must be your primary and permanent residence for at least six years.

CGD (Caixa Geral de Depósitos) leads with a 30.8% market share of the guarantees. Banco Montepio, BPI, Millennium BCP, and Santander Totta are all participating. Applications can be made at any participating bank until 31 December 2026.

The programme is the government's answer to the question this newsletter has been asking for weeks: if housing policy isn't working, what is? By this measure, something is. 100,000 buyers in 18 months is a genuine number. Whether it is enough to shift the broader crisis (€5,198/m² in Lisbon, €550/month room rents, a €40 million house selling in Cascais) is a different question. But for anyone in this audience who is 35 or under, has tax residency, and has been assuming they can't afford to buy in Portugal, the answer may have changed.

Bottom line: If you are under 35, a tax resident in Portugal, and earning under €81,000, you may be eligible for IMT and stamp duty exemptions, and a state-guaranteed mortgage with no deposit. The programme runs until December 2026. Talk to your bank. This is one of the most practically useful housing stories we have run.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Portugal is facing water cuts this week. Planned water supply interruptions are scheduled across parts of Portugal, including areas in the Lisbon district. Check with your local water supplier (EPAL for Lisbon) for specific dates and affected zones. If you work from home, fill containers in advance. This is the kind of practical disruption that catches people off guard if they don't know it's coming.

A Portuguese brand just beat Louis Vuitton in a trademark dispute. The luxury group sued Licores do Vale, a small liqueur producer from Monção in northern Portugal, over the use of the initials "LV" in their trademark. Louis Vuitton claimed "parasitic exploitation." The court ruled in favour of the Portuguese brand. Licores do Vale's response on social media was perfect: "The 'L' and the 'V' belong to everyone."

The labour reform bill enters parliament this week. The Trabalho XXI bill, approved in Council of Ministers on Thursday, will be formally submitted to the Assembly in the coming days. The CGTP general strike on June 3 is confirmed. The UGT has not decided whether to join. Parliamentary debate and Seguro's veto threat will dominate the next month of Portuguese politics.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

MANTEIGARIA (CHIADO)

This is not a restaurant. It is not a café. It is a factory that makes one thing, and it makes it better than almost anywhere else in the country.

Manteigaria opened in 2014 on Rua do Loreto, in a building from 1900 with an Art Nouveau façade that used to house Manteigaria União, the butter company that once supplied all of Lisbon. The name is a nod to that history, and butter is still the point: it is the ingredient that makes the pastry shatter the way it should.

The shop sells pastéis de nata and coffee. That is it. No sandwiches. No croissants. No brunch menu. Just the tart, made in front of you behind a glass wall, and a coffee to wash it down. The counters are lined with Estremoz and Lioz marble. The kitchen is visible from every angle. White-hatted chefs smooth layered butter pastry into iron tins, fill them with custard, and slide them into the oven. When a batch comes out, a bell rings. That is your cue.

The question every expat in Lisbon eventually asks is: Manteigaria or Pastéis de Belém? The answer depends on what you value. Pastéis de Belém has the history, the blue-tiled rooms, and the ritual of sitting down with a coffee in a place that has been doing this since 1837. Manteigaria has the tart. The pastry is thinner, crispier, and shatters into flakes when you bite it. The custard is just set, still warm, with a caramelised top. It is the version that most food writers and most Lisbon residents, when pressed, will tell you they prefer.

There are three locations in Lisbon: the original on Rua do Loreto (the one worth visiting), a stall inside the Time Out Market, and one on Rua Augusta. The Chiado original is the smallest and the most atmospheric. Room for about 15 people standing at the counter. Most people eat one at the counter and take a box of six home.

→ 4.7 stars, 9,500+ reviews, and they only sell one thing. There's a reason for that ←

Rua do Loreto 2, Chiado. Open daily, 8am to midnight. Metro: Baixa-Chiado (exit toward Praça Luís de Camões). Phone: +351 21 347 1492. manteigaria.com. €1.50 per tart.

Insider tip: Listen for the bell. It means a fresh batch just came out. If you're standing at the counter and you hear it, ask for one from the new tray. The difference between a tart that's been sitting for 20 minutes and one that's been out of the oven for 60 seconds is the difference between good and life-changing.

📅 WHAT'S ON

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See you tomorrow morning.