Good morning, Lisbon. It's Saturday, 23 May. Twenty-four degrees, sunny. TEDxMarvila is tomorrow and the central bank just made it harder to buy a house.
🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 20 (Good).
🗞️ TOP STORY
THE BANK OF PORTUGAL JUST TIGHTENED MORTGAGE RULES. TWO WEEKS AFTER THE STATE HIT 100,000 NO-DEPOSIT BUYERS.
On Wednesday, the Bank of Portugal announced that the maximum debt-to-income ratio for housing loans will be lowered from 50% to 45%. If you are buying property in Portugal, or planning to, the amount you can borrow just dropped.
The change is directly linked to the government's youth mortgage guarantee scheme. That scheme has now enabled 100,000 young buyers to purchase with no deposit, with the state guaranteeing 15% of the property value. The Bank of Portugal is signalling that the milestone came with a risk: too many borrowers taking on too much debt in a market where prices are still climbing.
The debt-to-income ratio (DSTI) determines how much of your monthly income can go toward total debt payments. At 50%, a household earning €3,000 could commit €1,500 to mortgage and other repayments. At 45%, that drops to €1,350. Over a 30-year mortgage, that €150 monthly difference translates to roughly €25,000 to €35,000 less in total borrowing capacity. For someone buying a €300,000 property, that gap can be the difference between qualifying and not.
The bank said the measure is designed to "mitigate default risk and prevent structural over-indebtedness among families in a real estate market under considerable pressure." A further revision of exceptions currently permitted in bank lending portfolios is also being considered.
The timing is the story. The government spent 18 months making it easier to buy (tax exemptions, state guarantees, 100% financing). The central bank is now making it harder to borrow. Both positions are defensible. The government wanted to get young people on the property ladder. The central bank wants to make sure they can stay on it.
Bottom line: If you are in the process of buying, talk to your bank now about how the new DSTI limit affects your pre-approval. If you haven't started, your borrowing capacity is lower than it was last week.
⚡ QUICK HITS
Portugal's Economy Minister says jet fuel "will not be a problem." Castro Almeida told reporters on Tuesday evening that jet fuel supply for the summer tourism season is secured. Last week, the Energy Minister said the same. Goldman Sachs still forecasts Europe hitting the 23-day shortage threshold in June. The government's confidence and the market data continue to point in different directions.
Lisbon ranked first in the world for international conferences and conventions. The ICCA 2025 ranking put Lisbon at the top globally with 188 events, beating Paris (174) and Barcelona (166). Congresses are the large-scale professional conferences that bring thousands of delegates, fill hotel rooms, and drive business tourism revenue. Third in Europe for food, first in the world for conferences. The infrastructure question remains: can the city sustain the attention?
Lisbon Zoo's first baby koala has started leaving its mother's pouch. The seven-month-old was announced on Monday. If you need a reason to smile on a Saturday morning, this is it.
🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY
The building at Rua de São Paulo 101 used to be a pharmacy. The tiled façade is still there. Step inside and the prescription changes: specialty coffee, matcha, smoothie bowls, and a room that feels like someone transplanted a Copenhagen cafe into a 19th-century Lisbon shopfront and somehow made it work.
Comobå sits on the quiet stretch of Rua de São Paulo between Cais do Sodré and Santos, just down the street from the Bica funicular. The interior keeps the original stone floor and arches but fills the space with marble tables, plants, and a clean Scandinavian-meets-Portuguese aesthetic that feels calming rather than clinical. The light in the morning is good. The vibe is unhurried.
The matcha pancakes are the signature: thick, bright green, and the dish that most people came for the first time and now come back for every week. The matcha lattes, made with house nut milks, are the other reason the queue forms. The smoothie bowls are photogenic and substantial. The tacos and burritos are the lunch options that surprise people who expected a brunch-only menu.
The location, near the Bica funicular and a five-minute walk from Cais do Sodré, means you can combine this with a morning walk through one of Lisbon's steepest and most atmospheric neighbourhoods.
Rua de São Paulo 101, Bica. Open daily. Phone: +351 963 288 453. comoba-lisboa.com.
Insider tip: Come at 10am on a Saturday when the room is calm and the matcha pancakes haven't run out. By noon, the queue builds. If you prefer coffee to matcha, the flat white is excellent, but this is one of the few places in Lisbon where the matcha is better than the coffee. Try it.
📅 WHAT'S ON
Queima das Fitas (ongoing to Sat 30 May, Coimbra) Portugal's biggest student festival.
Lisbon WeekenDance Festival (ongoing to Mon 25 May, Time Out Market) Kizomba, zouk, dance workshops.
TEDxMarvila (tomorrow, Sun 24 May, 10am to 7pm) Lisbon's English-language TEDx. Theme: "What is Love?"
Out Jazz (Sundays, May through September, various parks) Free outdoor concerts every Sunday evening.
Bad Bunny (Tue 26 to Wed 27 May, Estádio da Luz) World tour. Two nights.
Lisbon Book Fair (Wed 27 May to Sun 14 Jun, Parque Eduardo VII) Hundreds of stalls, author signings, talks. Free entry.
MOGA Festival (Wed 27 to Sun 31 May, Costa da Caparica) Five-day electronic music festival. Ben Böhmer, Axel Boman. Tickets via mogafestival.com.
ARCOlisboa (Thu 28 to Sun 31 May, Cordoaria Nacional) Contemporary art fair. 86 galleries from 19 countries.
CGTP General Strike (Wed 3 Jun) SNPVAC cabin crew joining. Plan flights and travel around it.
Todd Webb in Portugal (ongoing, Gulbenkian, through 27 Jul)
From Plate to Print (ongoing, Museu do Oriente, through 9 Aug)
Reach Lisbon's expat community. Advertise in The Lisbon Letter. Request our media kit.
See you tomorrow morning.