Young people in Mindelo drifting further from buying their first home

Wages stagnant, prices rising

A building plot in Ribeira Bote rose from 1,800,000 to 3,200,000 CVE in five years.

The weight of rent on the family budget

A young couple spends between 35% and 45% of their income on housing.

Self-building as a way out

Young people are turning to gradual self-building on family plots.

Emigration, ever present

Temporary emigration remains the fastest way to raise capital.

Ribeira Bote: from outlying neighbourhood to growth area

What was, barely a decade ago, a sparsely developed outlying neighbourhood of Mindelo has become one of the island's fastest-growing residential areas, attracting both young families and small local developers. This growth has come alongside a gradual improvement in access roads and basic services, which in turn has reinforced the rise in land values in the area.

The testimony of a generation unable to leave home

Several young people in Mindelo interviewed agree that, despite having stable jobs, they cannot save enough to access a mortgage on reasonable terms. Many remain in the family home past the age of thirty, or share rented housing with other young people in similar situations, an increasingly common practice in the city's outlying neighbourhoods.

Comparison with other cities in the archipelago

The phenomenon echoes what young people are experiencing in Espargos, on the island of Sal, where wages in the tourism sector are also failing to keep pace with housing prices. In Mindelo, however, the economy relies less on tourism and more on trade and port services, meaning the roots of the housing access problem are somewhat different, even if the end result is similar.

Family remittances, a lifeline

Remittances sent by family members living abroad remain, for many families in Mindelo, a decisive supplement that makes it possible to fund the gradual self-building of a home or to cover an increasingly steep rent. Without that outside support, several local estate agents agree, an even larger share of young people would be forced to indefinitely postpone any plans for a home of their own.