Housing market: Where is the most expensive to buy in Europe?
People in Ireland struggled with higher housing costs, including water, electricity and gas, in 2023, which was double the EU average, according to Eurostat. The second most expensive country was Luxembourg (86% above the EU average) followed by Denmark (80% above) last year. Meanwhile, people in Bulgaria and Poland had the cheapest housing in the bloc, with costs below the EU average at 61% and 56% respectively. Looking at price evolution, Eurostat notes that between 2010 and 2023, housing costs in Ireland went from 17% above the EU average to 101%, eventually doubling it.
Costs rose in 17 member states over the same period and fell in 9, including Greece, Cyprus and Spain. Housing costs remained unchanged in Poland. While housing crises are plaguing various countries in Europe, including Ireland, Portugal and Spain, the upward trend in property prices halted slightly last year, when European house prices fell slightly by 0.3% on average.
However, the broader view shows that in total, house prices rose by an average of 48% between 2010 and 2023 across the bloc, with the biggest increases recorded in Estonia (+209%), Hungary (+191%) and Lithuania. (+154%). Property prices have decreased in only two member states (however there is no data from Greece) in Italy and Cyprus by -8% and -2% respectively.
Meanwhile, rental costs have risen steadily, by a total of 22% in the period 2010-2023 with almost all member countries recording increases, except Greece. For comparison, the general inflation in the EU for the same period resulted in 36%.
However, there were places where rental prices rose well beyond the average. In Estonia, where the biggest rental price increase was recorded, the cost increased by +211%, in Lithuania there was a jump of +169%, and rents in Ireland doubled in the same period. On average, people in the EU spent around a fifth (19.7%) of their disposable income on housing last year, with the highest percentages in Greece (35.2%), Luxembourg (27.6%) and Denmark (25.9%) .
In Norway, Switzerland and Germany, people spend roughly a quarter of their disposable income on housing. For those who could be considered at risk of poverty in the EU, this rate was much higher, averaging 38.2%.
However, there is an improvement in the proportion of people running up arrears on their mortgage, rent or utility bills – this rate in the EU fell to 9.3% in 2023 from 12.4% in 2010, with only five member states recording an increase. One country, however, goes largely against the improving trend, Greece, where almost half the population has some arrears.
There are big differences across the block when it comes to home ownership. In Romania, for example, more than 95% of the population owns their own home. The country is closely followed by Slovakia, Croatia and Hungary, with more than 90% of people owning their homes in these member states. Renting is most common in Switzerland and Germany, where more than half of the population are renters.
Across the bloc, more than two-thirds, 69% of the population owned their own home, while the remaining 31% lived in rented accommodation in 2023.
In the EU in 2023, more than half of the population lived in a house, with almost 48% living in an apartment and a small percentage of 0.6% having chosen an alternative type of accommodation, such as houseboats and vans. Although the choice between a house or a flat can be largely determined by whether the house is in the city or the countryside, for the overall country comparison, Ireland was at the top by a lot, with 90% of the population living in a house.
The country with the most second homes was the Netherlands (79%), while Belgium and Croatia (both 77%) shared third place. Meanwhile, Spain had the highest share of housing (66%), followed by Latvia (65%, 2021 data), Malta (63%) and Germany (61%). People in Cyprus invested the equivalent of 8.6% of the country's GDP in property last year, according to Eurostat. In Italy, this rate was 7%, slightly higher than in Germany (6.9%) and France (6.4%). The lowest rate was recorded in Poland (2.2% of GDP) and Greece (2.3%). The average investment in housing in the EU was 5.8% of GDP in 2023, approximately one trillion euros.
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