House prices and rents are rising across the EU, up 5.5 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively by the end of 2025

Brussels – The housing issue and crisis are among the most pressing social and economic challenges facing Europe, as confirmed by the latest figures from the European Union’s statistical office: in the fourth quarter of 2025, the European Union’s property market saw a marked upward trend, with an annual increase of 5.5 per cent in house prices and 3.2 per cent in rents compared with the same period in 2024. Compared to the third quarter of 2025, house prices rose by 0.8 per cent, while rents recorded an increase of 0.6 per cent. Although growth in the euro area was slightly more subdued (+5.1 per cent year-on-year) compared to the EU average (+5.5 per cent), the trend remains consistently positive following the slight declines recorded between the end of 2022 and the start of 2024.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the ranking of annual price increases (compared with the same period in 2024) is led by Hungary (+21.2 per cent), followed by Portugal (+18.9 per cent) and Croatia (+16.1 per cent). Compared to the third quarter of 2025, the most significant increase was recorded in Slovenia (+5.1 per cent), while there were slight signs of a slowdown in France (-0.7 per cent) and Estonia (-0.3 per cent). Italy saw a 4.1 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.

A key figure for understanding the real pressure on people’s household budgets is the real price index (or deflated index), which is the ratio of the nominal house price index to a consumer price index adjusted for inflation. Looking at the historical data, we see that, between 2010 and 2014, house prices in the euro area either fell or rose by less than inflation; in 2015, they began to rise faster than inflation; between 2016 and 2021, they rose by between 2.9 per cent and 5.4 per cent above inflation on an annual basis. Furthermore, in 2022, house prices rose only slightly above inflation (+0.5 per cent); in 2023, they fell amid high inflation, leading to a significant 7 per cent decline in annual house prices net of deflation, followed by a further decrease of 0.3 per cent in 2024. Finally, in 2025, house prices rose by 3.1 per cent above inflation. Despite this, in five countries (Luxembourg, Austria, Romania, Finland and Sweden) house prices rose less than the general cost of living.

Looking at the period from 2015 to the third quarter of 2025, it is clear that buying a property has become an increasingly costly investment: during this period, house prices in the EU have surged by 64.9 per cent, exceeding the growth in rents—which nevertheless rose by 21.8 per cent—by almost three times. However, this trend has not affected the continent uniformly. In as many as 25 of the 26 member states for which data is available, the rise in purchase prices has outpaced that of rents. The most striking case is that of Hungary, where sale prices have almost quadrupled (+290 per cent) since 2015. Increases of more than double were recorded in 12 other countries, with significant peaks in Portugal (+180 per cent), Lithuania (+168 per cent), and Bulgaria (+157 per cent). The only country bucking the trend is Finland, where house prices have fallen by 3 per cent compared to ten years ago.

Not even the rental market, although generally more stable, has been spared price rises: from 2015 to the present day, all 27 EU countries have seen increases. After Hungary (+109 per cent), the sharpest rises were seen in Lithuania (+88 per cent), Ireland and Poland (both +76 per cent). These figures confirm that housing affordability remains a key issue for the Union’s cohesion policies.