An analysis of the European real estate market reveals where it is cheapest to rent and buy property in Europe. Some results are more surprising than others. For example, Danes need only an average of 4.7 years’ worth of salary to purchase a 70-square-meter apartment.
In a European comparison, Germany is one of the more expensive places to buy a home. According to a study by the consulting firm Deloitte, the average price for a new apartment in Germany is €4,700 per square meter.
Only in Austria are prices slightly higher, while it is cheaper in 21 other countries. Measured against the average income, a 70-square-meter apartment is most affordable in Denmark. With a selling price of just under €3,000 per square meter, Danes only need to spend 4.7 years’ worth of salary to purchase such an apartment.
Real estate in Italy is also relatively affordable, according to Deloitte. It takes around five years’ worth of salary to buy a home there. The selling price for a new apartment in Italy dropped by 11 percent last year to around €2,100 per square meter. Even in Rome, seven years’ salary is enough to make a purchase.
When looking only at absolute prices, new apartments are also inexpensive in Greece (around €1,500/square meter), Croatia, Slovenia (€2,600), or Spain (€2,800), as well as in Romania (€1,500), Poland (€2,200), and Hungary (€2,600). However, when considering whether locals can afford to buy a home, the situation looks different: In France, an average of ten years’ salary is needed, and in the Czech Republic, even 13 years’ salary.
Most expensive cities: Paris and London
Paris is by far the most expensive of the 68 cities analyzed in Europe, with an average price of €14,900 per square meter—followed by Munich at €10,900. The average price in Paris is thus four times the French national average, while in Munich, the markup compared to the German average is 232 percent.
For renters, London is the most expensive city according to Deloitte, with rents at nearly €34 per square meter, followed by Dublin, Paris, and Barcelona (€30). Munich ranks in the upper middle, with nearly €21 per square meter. In contrast, rents for new apartments are relatively affordable in Turin.
In the Italian automotive city, landlords charge an average of just €7.30 per square meter, according to the study. New tenants in some major Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Czech cities also pay less than €9 per square meter. However, new rental apartments in the Bulgarian cities of Sofia, Varna, and Burgas saw price increases of between 67 and 126 percent last year.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-976201130-031950ddf887496fb9da13ce9d2dd8e5.jpg?w=350&resize=350,250&ssl=1 "German housing construction plunges, 400,000 annual goal slips away")
