The job of a real estate agent in Portugal

Welcome to the course. Over eight short lessons you will learn how to start, work and grow as a real estate agent in Portugal. This first lesson is about the job itself: what you do all day, who pays you, and what the first year really looks like.

The agency holds the licence, you hold the client

In Portugal, real estate mediation is a licensed activity. Law 15/2013 says a company (or a sole trader) needs a licence from IMPIC, the public institute for real estate and construction, before it can act as a mediator. People in the trade call it the AMI licence. We cover it in detail in lesson 3.

Most people who show homes do not hold that licence themselves. They work as consultores imobiliários under the licence of the agency they join. Ekonomista explained in September 2026 that a consultant only needs a collaboration contract with a licensed company. A guest author on Doutor Finanças estimated in 2024 that well over 95% of agents work this way, and put the total at somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 people. There is no individual register, so treat that as an estimate.

What a consultant actually does

On a resale, you usually work for the seller. You:

1. Win the listing and get the owner to sign the agency’s mediation contract (lesson 4).
2. Value the home, take photos and publish it on portals.
3. Qualify buyers, organise viewings and identify every client for anti-money laundering checks.
4. Negotiate the offer and help both sides reach the promissory contract (CPCV) and its deposit (sinal).
5. Coordinate the bank, the lawyer or solicitor and the deed until the keys change hands.

On a new build or off-plan sale, you sell for a developer, often through launches and buyer events. On a rental, you find and check tenants for a landlord.

Who hires

You will meet three main types of employer:

• National networks and franchises, where most consultants are self-employed under a shared brand.
• Independent and boutique agencies, often strong in one city, one coast or one price range.
• Developers and their sales teams, who sell new projects.

The networks are big. ECO reported in March 2026 that in 2025 RE/MAX had 11,350 consultants in 422 agencies, Century 21 had 5,086 consultants, ERA about 3,300, and Zome 2,064. KW (Keller Williams) did not give a headcount but reported 14,429 transactions. Together the five largest networks had 24,825 consultants and closed more than 140,000 transactions.

Foreign buyers matter. INE data reported by ECO show that foreigners made 27.6% of family home purchases in 2025, led by buyers from Brazil, Angola and France. Languages are a real advantage.

How you get paid

No law fixes the fee. Law 15/2013 only says the mediation contract must state the agency’s fee, how it is paid and the VAT rate. Ekonomista reported in September 2026 that agencies usually charge 2% to 6% of the price, with 5% the rate most cited in the big networks. 23% VAT goes on top, as in the Postal example of a €250,000 sale at 5%: a €12,500 fee plus €2,875 VAT. The seller usually pays on a sale.

That fee goes to the agency. You get a share:

Model	How it works	Main risk
Self-employed consultant (recibos verdes)	You invoice the agency for your share of each fee	No income until a deal closes
Employee with salary and commission	Contract, Social Security paid by the employer	Smaller share per deal, and rarer
Developer sales role	Salary or fee per unit sold	Depends on one project

Ekonomista put the usual consultant share at 40% to 50% of the agency fee, depending on the model. Shares are lower when the fee is split with a colleague or another agency: in the Postal example, the consultant kept €3,125 of a €12,500 fee, about 25%.

On rentals, ECO reported back in 2020 that Century 21 charged one and a half to two months of rent and ERA two months plus VAT. Ask your agency for its current rates.

Indeed’s page for consultor imobiliário, built from 314 reported salaries and updated in October 2026, shows an average of about €2,890 a month, with most between €1,079 and €7,739. These are self-reported figures, not official statistics. We do the maths in lesson 8, and you can test your own numbers in the commission calculator.

A realistic first year

Be honest with yourself before you start:

• Deals take time. ECO’s figures give the five big networks an average of 5.2 transactions per consultant in 2025. That is about one deal every ten weeks, and a beginner will be below average.
• You need savings. On commission only, plan to cover your living costs for several months.
• Paperwork is the job. Licences, money laundering checks, energy certificates and taxes. Agents who master them win trust.
• Languages and local knowledge count more than a polished pitch.

The agents who last build a daily routine, keep learning the rules and treat every client as a future referral. That is what this course will help you do.

What comes next

In lesson 2 we look at who is allowed to work in Portugal, and on what basis. To see open roles now, browse jobs and compare employers on agencies.

This lesson is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and figures change, so check the official source before you act.