This is followed by Greece and Romania, as per the Deloitte Property Index 2023
According to the Deloitte Property Index 2023, Bosnia and Herzegovina is the cheapest country in Europe when it comes to housing. This is followed by Greece, with an average price of EUR 1,417/sq m for a new dwelling and up from EUR 1,266/sq m in 2021 is Romania, ranking third. On the opposite end, Austria is the most expensive European country, with EUR 4,925/sq m in 2022 followed by Germany (EUR 4,800/sq m), France (EUR 4,639/sq m), and Norway (EUR 4,204/sq m).
The 12th edition of the Deloitte Property Index study analyses the evolution of the residential real estate market in 27 countries and 76 cities in 2022. All price statistics collected are converted into euro to provide comparable results. According to the new index, most of the countries saw increases in average prices for new dwellings, while drops were noted only in the United Kingdom (-18.8%), Denmark (-9.7%) and France (-0.2%). Meanwhile, Paris tops the ranking of the European cities with the most expensive housing, with an average price of EUR 14,622/sq m for a new apartment. Munich comes second with EUR 11,400 EUR/sq m, followed by London in third - EUR 9,163/sq m.
In Romania, the most expensive city is Cluj-Napoca, with EUR 2,363/sq m and a 21.8% increase compared to the previous year, while Bucharest ranks second, with EUR 1,693/sq m. According to Deloitte, this places Romania among the few European states in which the most expensive city is not the capital, alongside Ireland - whose ranking is led by Cork City, Italy - where Rome is surpassed by Milan, and Spain - where Barcelona ranks first.
The same index revealed that when it comes to the rental market, Dublin is the most expensive European city, with a monthly price level of EUR 32.8/sq m. The second-ranked is Paris, with prices at EUR 28.5/sq m, followed by Oslo (EUR 28/sq m). At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria continues to be the country with the lowest average rental prices, with UR 4.6 EUR/sq m for those who live in Sofia, followed by Greece, where the average monthly rent for those who live in Thessaloniki is EUR 6.6/sq m.
Romania is also among the countries with the lowest rents. The most expensive Romanian city analysed is Cluj-Napoca, with an average monthly rent of EUR 8.6/sq m, while Bucharest tenants pay an average of EUR 8.1/sq m per month. The study also reveals that an average Romanian needs 6.3 annual gross salaries to purchase a 70 sq m dwelling, ranking sixth in the top of the best affordability, after Belgium (4.3 gross annual salaries), Norway (4.7 gross annual salaries), Denmark (5), Slovenia (5.6) and Italy (6.2).
Slovakia is the least affordable among the analysed European countries, with 14.1 gross annual salaries needed to buy a new home, followed by Czech Republic (13.3 gross annual salaries).
