According to data released by Eurostat, rents and house prices in the EU saw an increase in the fourth quarter of 2022 when compared to the same period in 2021.
The report shows that rents rose by 2.5%, while house prices increased by 3.6%. However, compared to the third quarter of 2022, house prices showed a decrease for the first time since 2015 with a 1.5% decline, while rents continued to increase by 0.6%.
The report also highlights that rents and house prices followed a similar increasing trend from 2010 to the second quarter of 2011. However, after this period, house prices and rents evolved differently. While rents continued to increase steadily until the fourth quarter of 2022, house prices experienced fluctuations. After a sharp decline between the second quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, house prices remained stable between 2013 and 2014. Then, in early 2015, there was a rapid rise in house prices, which increased faster than rents until the second quarter of 2022. In the third quarter of 2022, house prices increased at the same pace as rents.
Between 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2022, rents increased by 19% and house prices by 47%. The report also highlights that house prices more than doubled in Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Austria, and Czechia. When comparing the fourth quarter of 2022 to 2010, house prices increased more than rents in 18 EU countries.
Looking at individual countries, the report shows that over this period, house prices increased in 24 EU countries and decreased in three. House prices more than doubled in Estonia (+199%), Hungary (+174%), Lithuania (+142%), Luxembourg (+136%), Latvia (+133%), Austria (+126%), and Czechia (+125%). However, decreases were observed in Greece (-14%, see methodological notes), Italy (-9%), and Cyprus (-4%).
For rents, the report shows that prices increased in 26 EU countries and decreased in one. Estonia (+216%) and Lithuania (+160%) saw the highest rises in rents, while the only decrease was recorded in Greece (-23%).
It's important to note that while the report provides valuable insights into the state of housing prices and rents across the EU, there are limitations to the data, and the methodological notes should be consulted for a complete understanding of the findings. Nonetheless, the data provides a useful overview of the trends in the housing market and will be of interest to those looking to buy or rent property in the EU.