Europe Housing Landscape in 2025: Ownership Dominates, Affordability Strains Intensify
- brg_news_room
- Feb 3
- 1 min read
EUROPE: Housing conditions across the European Union in 2025 reveal a market shaped by high ownership, rising costs and growing affordability challenges. In 2024, 68% of EU residents owned their homes, with ownership rates exceeding 90% in Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia. Germany remained the only country where renting predominated. Just over half of Europeans lived in houses, though urban living was characterised by flats, while rural areas remained overwhelmingly house based.
Affordability pressures intensified despite easing inflation. House prices rose 53% between 2010 and 2024, far outpacing rents (+25%) and inflation (+39%). Construction costs increased sharply (+56%), constraining supply, while housing costs absorbed 19% of disposable income on average, rising to 37% for households at risk of poverty. Nearly 9% of EU residents faced arrears on housing-related bills, with cities most affected. Investment in housing reached 5.3% of GDP, yet building permits declined to 1.5 million, underscoring persistent structural imbalances in 2025.
Source: EuroStat
