HOW MUCH HAVE HOUSE PRICES INCREASED IN CYPRUS AND EUROPE - RENTS HAVE ALSO SKYROCKETED - Filenews 14/4 by Theano Thiopoulou
Real estate prices in the European Union are recording large increases, which have been recovering strongly since 2024. The increases in rents are also significant and the discomfort is intense in many European cities about the cost of housing.
Costs in Europe vary greatly depending on the city, country and type of housing (rental or ownership). In general, costs tend to be higher in large cities and areas with a high standard of living, and tenants often face a greater burden of housing than landlords.
According to Eurostat data, house prices in Europe increased by 5.7% in the first quarter of 2025 on an annual basis and by 1.4% on a quarterly basis. Rents increased by 3.2% and 0.9% over the same period.
It is no coincidence that in Cyprus too, concerns are regularly expressed about the level of rents – which vary depending on the province – but also about the prices that the sales prices per square meter have reached. Let's see in detail which countries have large or small increases or even decreases.
House prices increased by 5.1% in the euro area and by 5.5% in the EU year-on-year, maintaining the growth rate recorded in the previous quarter. The picture among member states varies widely, with some countries recording double-digit growth rates that raise concerns about housing affordability.
In particular, Hungary recorded the highest annual growth in the EU with +21.2%, Portugal followed with an impressive +18.9% and Croatia completed the trio of high performers with +16.1%. Finland was an exception, as it was the only country to record an annual decrease in prices (-3.1%).
On a quarterly basis (comparison of the fourth and third quarters of 2025), prices fell slightly in France (-0.7%) and Estonia (-0.3%), while in Cyprus they remained stable.
When looking at the average quarterly number of dwellings traded between 2015 and 2025, seasonal patterns are observed among the 16 EU countries for which data are available.
The average number of dwellings traded was highest in the fourth quarter in 9 countries (Ireland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Spain, Austria and Portugal), in the second or third quarter in 6 countries (Denmark, Hungary, Lithuania, France, Slovenia and Finland) and in the first quarter only in 1 country (Poland).
In 13 of the 16 countries (all except Slovenia, Hungary and Poland), the lowest number of dwellings traded was observed in the first quarter of the year.
The Eurostat report also sheds light on the relationship between buying and renting. In the fourth quarter of 2025, rents in the EU increased by 3.2% compared to the previous year, a pace that is clearly milder than that of sales prices (+5.5%).
The analysis over a decade (2015-2025) reveals the magnitude of the change. House prices in the EU have skyrocketed by 64.9% since 2015. Rents have increased by 21.8% over the same period.
In Hungary, property prices almost quadrupled (+290%), while they more than doubled in 12 more countries, including Portugal (+180%) and Bulgaria (+157%). In Cyprus the increase was 52.9%.
Between 2016 and 2021, house prices rose every year more than inflation in at least 24 of the 27 EU countries.
