According to Eurostat, rents and house prices in the EU continued to grow steadily in the first quarter of 2021, increasing by 0.4% and 2.2%, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Between 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, housing prices and rents in the EU followed a similar trend. But since the second quarter of 2011, they have gone completely different ways. While rents rose steadily throughout the period up to the first quarter of 2021, housing prices fluctuated significantly.
After a sharp decline between the second quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, housing prices remained more or less stable between 2013 and 2014. A rapid growth happened at the beginning of 2015. And housing prices have grown much faster than the cost of rent since.
For the period from 2010 to the first quarter of 2021, rents increased by 15.3%, and housing prices increased by 30.9%.
From 2010 to the first quarter of 2021, housing prices increased in 23 EU member states and decreased in four. The largest growth was recorded in Estonia (+126.8%) and Luxembourg (+108.2%). The decrease was observed in Greece (-28.1%), Italy (-14.4%), Cyprus (-8.9%) and Spain (-4.8%).
With regard to rent, the picture was different. When comparing the first quarter of 2021 with 2010, rates increased in 25 EU member states and decreased in two. The largest growth was observed in Estonia (+140.4%), Lithuania (+108.6%) and Ireland (+63.3%). The decrease was recorded in Greece (-25.2%) and Cyprus (-3.8%).