Thursday, 1 October 2026
House prices across the European Union continued to increase in the second quarter of 2026, rising faster than rents and maintaining the recovery that began in 2024. Residential values were 4.7% higher than a year earlier, while rents increased by 3.0%, according to the latest Eurostat data.
Price growth nevertheless moderated compared with the beginning of the year. EU house prices had risen 5.1% annually in the first quarter, before slowing to 4.7% in the second. In the euro area, the annual increase eased from 4.6% to 4.0%. On a quarterly basis, residential values still advanced by 1.2% across the EU and 1.1% in the euro area.
The European average masks substantial differences between individual housing markets. Of the EU countries for which figures were available, 23 recorded annual price growth and three registered declines. Portugal led the increases at 16.5%, followed by Bulgaria at 15.5% and Lithuania at 14.3%. At the other end of the market, prices declined by 2.7% in Finland, 2.2% in Luxembourg and 0.8% in France.
Several Central and Eastern European markets remained among the stronger performers. Czech house prices increased 8.6% year-on-year, while Hungary recorded growth of 10.2%. Bulgaria remained one of the fastest-expanding residential markets in the EU. Romania, meanwhile, posted one of the strongest quarterly movements, with prices increasing 4.4% between the first and second quarters.
The short-term figures also indicate that momentum remains positive across most of Europe. Residential prices increased from the previous quarter in 24 member states. Lithuania recorded the largest rise at 5.0%, followed by Bulgaria at 4.5% and Romania at 4.4%. Hungary and France were the only countries to report quarterly declines, at 1.4% and 0.8% respectively.
Housing costs are also continuing to rise for tenants, although more slowly at EU level. Compared with the second quarter of 2025, rents increased by 3.0%, against the 4.7% increase in property values. Compared with the first quarter of this year, rents advanced 0.7%, while house prices rose 1.2%.
A separate comparison with average 2025 levels highlights an even wider difference between individual rental markets. EU rents in the second quarter were 2.6% above the 2025 average, while house prices were 4.1% higher. Romania recorded a 41.2% increase in the Eurostat rent index on this measure, followed by Croatia at 22.1% and Slovenia at 10.2%. These figures are derived from consumer-price rent indices and should therefore not be interpreted simply as changes in asking rents for newly marketed apartments.
The latest figures point to a European residential market that continues to expand but is becoming increasingly fragmented. Strong double-digit price growth in Portugal, Bulgaria and Lithuania contrasts with falling values in several Western and Northern European markets, while Central and Eastern Europe continues to contain some of the strongest quarterly performers. For developers and residential investors, the widening gap between national markets suggests that local supply, financing conditions and affordability are becoming increasingly important in determining where the next phase of housing growth will be concentrated.
