Municipality · Madeira
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is part of Madeira — a subtropical Atlantic archipelago of terraced hillsides and laurel forest that has become a magnet for relocation and remote-work buyers.
Last updated · First published
What does property cost in Santa Cruz?
These are the two municipality-level medians INE publishes for Santa Cruz: the transacted (sold) price and the median bank valuation, both per square metre. They are measured differently and are labelled separately, so a valuation is never presented as a sold price.
€2,617/m²
Santa Cruz
€2,607/m²
Santa Cruz
CC BY 4.0How Santa Cruz sold prices have moved
Median sold price · Santa Cruz, last 12 months (line, left axis) against dwellings sold in the last 12 months (bars, right axis).
Q4 2019 → Q1 2026Latest data: Q1 2026
Median sold price · Santa Cruz: Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Portugal · indicator 0012234 (dim3=H1) · retrieved 2026-08-12 · CC BY 4.0
Sold in last 12 months: Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Portugal · indicator 0014363 · retrieved 2026-10-02 · CC BY 4.0
Show the data as a table (26 quarters)
| Quarter | Median sold price · Santa Cruz (last 12 months, €/m²) | Sold in last 12 months (dwellings) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 2,617 | 550 |
| Q4 2025 | 2,500 | 606 |
| Q3 2025 | 2,444 | 648 |
| Q2 2025 | 2,395 | 713 |
| Q1 2025 | 2,323 | 702 |
| Q4 2024 | 2,269 | 608 |
| Q3 2024 | 2,085 | 562 |
| Q2 2024 | 1,895 | 494 |
| Q1 2024 | 1,844 | 500 |
| Q4 2023 | 1,798 | 576 |
| Q3 2023 | 1,720 | 601 |
| Q2 2023 | 1,479 | 856 |
| Q1 2023 | 1,437 | 927 |
| Q4 2022 | 1,416 | 967 |
| Q3 2022 | 1,386 | 1,011 |
| Q2 2022 | 1,412 | 828 |
| Q1 2022 | 1,400 | 808 |
| Q4 2021 | 1,346 | 795 |
| Q3 2021 | 1,284 | 801 |
| Q2 2021 | 1,261 | 780 |
| Q1 2021 | 1,255 | 708 |
| Q4 2020 | 1,227 | 685 |
| Q3 2020 | 1,215 | 636 |
| Q2 2020 | 1,163 | 634 |
| Q1 2020 | 1,144 | 680 |
| Q4 2019 | 1,130 | 666 |
Every figure in this section comes from INE and is shown with its own reference period. The sold-price and bank-valuation series are listed in the public data registry with full provenance. The dwellings-sold bars print their source, INE indicator code and licence under the chart. Sold prices and the count of dwellings sold come from INE’s house-price statistics; the bank-valuation figure is INE’s median valuation used by credit institutions.
What are the rules and costs in Santa Cruz?
Prices tell you what it costs to buy in Santa Cruz; the rules and costs below tell you what governs a purchase and what it costs to hold.
Two rules shape most purchases here — whether a property can be let short-term, and what it costs to hold each year — followed by the guides and calculator to model your full purchase.
Can you run a short-term rental here?
Short-term letting (Alojamento Local, AL) is regulated at the municipal level in Santa Cruz, as it is across Portugal: the national Alojamento Local regime (Decreto-Lei 128/2014, as amended) sets registration and operating requirements, while each câmara municipal can designate zonas de contenção that suspend or restrict new AL registrations. Restriction status varies by municipality and by parish, and changes over time.
This is general information, not legal advice — confirm the current status for a specific address with the Santa Cruz câmara municipal before assuming a property can be operated as AL.
What about annual property tax (IMI)?
Municipal Property Tax (IMI) is levied annually by the Santa Cruz council within a band set nationally, so the exact rate depends on the municipality and the property’s taxable value (VPT). We do not print a rate we cannot source: any specific figure we publish is drawn from the official register with its reference year, never estimated here.
To model the full acquisition cost — IMT, stamp duty and the recurring IMI — for a specific Santa Cruz purchase, use the cost calculator linked below.
Common questions about Santa Cruz
- How much does property cost per square metre in Santa Cruz?
- In Santa Cruz, the median transacted (sold) price is about €2,617 per square metre (1st Quarter 2026). The median bank valuation — what lenders appraised, a separate measure from the transacted price — is about €2,607 per square metre (August 2026). Source: Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Portugal, CC BY 4.0.
Plan your purchase
We publish a number only when the warehouse can source it. Many of the series shown here, including the sold-price and bank-valuation medians, are listed in the public data registry with their official sources, reference periods and licences. The dwellings-sold bars in the price chart print their source, INE indicator code and licence under the chart.
Buying in Santa Cruz?
Map the numbers on this page to your specific purchase. Speak with an advisor about costs, timeline and paperwork.
Book a free consultationOther municipalities in Madeira
Other municipalities in the same district — each carries its own INE-sourced price, tax and safety figures.