In the fourth quarter of 2023, house prices decreased by 0.3%, while rents increased by 0.6% in the EU compared to the third quarter of 2023, according to Eurostat.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, house prices in the EU increased by 0.2%, while rents increased by 3.0%.

These insights come from data on house prices and rents published today by Eurostat. This article presents the findings from the more detailed article on housing price statistics in Statistics Explained.

House prices and rents in the EU followed a similar pattern between 2010 and the second quarter of 2011 but are now evolving differently. While rents have been steadily increasing since then until the second quarter of 2023, house prices have followed a different pattern, including sharper declines and faster growth.

After a sharp decline between the second quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, house prices remained more or less stable between 2013 and 2014. There was a rapid increase at the beginning of 2015, and house prices grew faster than rents until the third quarter of 2022.

Starting from the fourth quarter of 2022, house prices decreased for two consecutive quarters before rising again in the second and third quarters of 2023 and slightly declining in the fourth quarter of 2023.

House prices more than doubled in Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Luxembourg from 2010.

Between 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2023, house prices increased by 48%, while rents increased by 23% in the EU.

Comparing the fourth quarter of 2023 with 2010, among the member states for which data is available, house prices increased more than rents in 19 of the EU countries. House prices more than doubled in Estonia (+217%), Hungary (+185%), Lithuania (+162%), Latvia (+135%), the Czech Republic (+123%), Austria (+111%), and Luxembourg (+102%). Decreases were observed in Italy (-8%) and Cyprus (-3%).

Rents increased in 26 EU countries, with the largest increases in Estonia (+207%), Lithuania (+172%), and Ireland (+102%). The only decrease in rent prices was recorded in Greece (-19%). (Photo: Freepik)