Rising housing costs in the EU: the facts (infographics)
Rising housing prices and rents are a big concern for many Europeans. Find out key facts and what the EU is doing about the issue.
What is affordable housing?
One way to measure whether housing costs are too high is to look at the housing price-to-income-ratio. If housing costs are above 40% of disposable income, it is a sign that households face issues with housing.
In the EU in 2023, for 10.6% of households in cities and 7% of households in rural areas housing costs exceeded 40% of their disposable income. Over a quarter of Greeks (31%) living in cities had housing costs of over 40% of income, while only around 6% of Slovaks in cities faced the same issue.
The increase of housing costs in the EU
In less than 10 years, between 2015 and 2023, house prices in the EU rose on average by 48%. The biggest increase is marked in Hungary, where prices rose 173%, and the lowest in Finland, with just 5%.
The main reasons contributing to the rise in prices are higher building costs and mortgage rates, a decrease in construction that limited supply and the rise in the purchase of properties as an investment to generate additional income.
Renting in the EU also became costlier. Between 2010 and 2022, rents rose by 18% on average, partially due to an increase in short-term rentals, which took houses and flats out of the market.
Housing conditions in Europe
Many Europeans are concerned about rising prices, the cost of living and the economic situation. According to the Eurobarometer survey from July 2024, those were the main reasons that drove people to vote in the European elections.
How does the majority of Europeans live?
- Over two-thirds of Europeans live in households owning their home
- Just over half live in a house
- There are on average 1.6 rooms per person
- There are on average 2.3 people per household
- 17% of Europeans live in homes that do not offer adequate space (at least one room per adult couple, single adult person, pairs of brothers or sisters aged 12 to 17, single children over 12 or pairs of children under 12)
- 34% of Europeans live in homes that have more space than what is considered adequate
- Source: Eurostat (2023)
Young Europeans leave their parents’ home on average at the age of 26.3. This varies significantly between EU countries, from 21.4 years in Finland to 31.8 years in Croatia.
What is the EU doing about housing?
In 2021, Parliament adopted a resolution calling on EU countries to recognise adequate housing as a fundamental human right that is enforceable through legislation. Everyone should get equal access to decent, "healthy" housing, with connection to high-quality drinking water, adequate sanitation, sewage and reliable energy, MEPs said.
In July 2024, Parliament elected Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as President of the European Commission. In a statement before the vote, von der Leyen announced housing as one of the EU’s priorities in the new term and stated that, for the first time, the EU would have a commissioner responsible for housing.
In October 2024, MEPs discussed the need for sustainable, decent and affordable housing with the Commission’s Vice-President Margaritis Schinas. They expressed concerns about homelessness, young people not being able to buy their own home and stated the importance of investments in social housing.
