Real house price index in select countries in Europe 2010-2024, by quarter

In 2024, Turkey had the highest inflation-adjusted house price index out of the 35 European countries under observation, making it the country where house prices have increased the most since 2010. In Turkey, the house price index exceeded 240 index points in the first quarter of 2024, showing an increase in real terms of 140 percent since 2010, the baseline year for the index. Iceland and Estonia completed the top three, with an index value of over 190 index points. In the past year, however, many European countries saw house prices decline in real terms.

Where can I find other metrics on different housing markets in Europe?

To assess the valuation in different housing markets, one can have a look at the house-price-to-income ratios in different countries worldwide. These ratios are calculated by dividing nominal house prices by nominal disposable income per head. There are also ratios that look at how residential property prices relate to domestic rents, such as the house-price-to-rent ratio for the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, these numbers are not available in a European overview. An overview of the price per square meter of an apartment in the EU-28 countries is available, however.

One region, different markets

An important trait of the European housing market is that there is not one market, but multiple. Property policy in Europe lies with the domestic governments, not with the European Union. This leads to significant differences between European countries, which shows in, for example, the homeownership rate (the share of owner-occupied dwellings of all homes). These differences also lead to another problem: the availability of data. Non-Europeans might be surprised to see that house price statistics vary in depth, as every country has their own methodology and no European body exists that tracks this data for the whole continent.