An updated analysis of rental trends in 28 European cities shows that property prices rose again in the second quarter of 2024. The International Rent Index by City is compiled quarterly by rental platform HousingAnywhere and finds that “price increases regained momentum in the second quarter of 2024.”
Overall, rental prices in Europe rose 4.3% year-on-year in the quarter, compared to an overall increase of 3.8% in the previous quarter. Room prices rose 3.5% in the second quarter, while apartment prices rose 4.2% and studio prices rose 5.4%.
“We are just at the beginning of the peak season for mobile students and young professionals looking for a new home after the summer semester and before the start of the new semester, and we are seeing rental prices rising. This means that home seekers are starting to look early and have to make some compromises,” said HousingAnywhere CEO Djordy Seelmann. “Given recent elections in several European countries, we will have to wait and see whether new governments see expanding housing stock as a sensible antidote to the pressing affordability issue.”
The 28 cities included in the index are Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Florence, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Cologne, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Porto, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, The Hague, Turin, Utrecht, Valencia and Vienna. The index collects price data for 79,043 properties that were listed on the HousingAnywhere platform last year and attracted interest from potential tenants.
As is common with broad regional surveys, the HousingAnywhere index shows significant differences in price trends across Europe. The German and Dutch cities in the index remain the most expensive on the continent, but “large southern European cities, particularly in Italy and Spain, are catching up.”
For example, Rome recorded the highest price increases for rooms (19.2% year-on-year) and Madrid the biggest jump for apartments (20%).
Room prices range from highs of €1,007 and €855 in Amsterdam and Hamburg respectively to cheaper locations such as Athens, Valencia or Budapest, where monthly prices are reliably under €400.
At the same time, the supply of studio space is tighter, which, according to the report, leads to greater price volatility (and faster price increases) in this category.
Significant rent increases were also reported for apartments in several cities, particularly in Madrid (+20%) and The Hague (+18%). In several cities, prices ranged from €1,500 to over €2,000. HousingAnywhere adds: “Of all the apartments analyzed, 57% were one-bedroom apartments, 31% were two-bedroom apartments and 12% were three-bedroom apartments.”
For further background information, see:
