How long do you have to work to buy apartment in Europe
House in Norway (pixabay.com)
Lots of people move to Europe and plan to stay and build their lives there. This article will provide information on how affordable real estate is in various European countries and the number of years needed to work to acquire your own property, according to forsal.pl.
Time needed to work for your own apartment
Housing affordability in many countries serves as an indicator of quality of life and economic development. The average indicator of owned housing in European countries last year was 473 apartments per 1,000 residents.
While property prices vary significantly in different countries, housing affordability is determined by salary levels and the time it takes to accumulate funds for one's own apartment or house.
The latest Deloitte Property Index 2023 report reveals that Slovakia is the least affordable European country in terms of the cost of purchasing personal housing. Slovaks need to set aside their entire salary for 14.1 years to buy a 70 sq. m apartment. Norway has the most expensive housing, but earning for it is easier there.
Photo: Apartment building in Germany (pixabay.com)
Here is the amount of time needed to set aside an entire salary to purchase an apartment in various countries:
- Belgium – 4.3 years;
- Norway – 4.7 years;
- Denmark – 5 years;
- Slovenia – 5.6 years;
- Italy – 6.2 years;
- Romania – 6.3 years;
- Greece – 6.6 years;
- UK, Netherlands, Portugal – 7.2-7.5 years;
- Poland – 8.1 years;
- Croatia – 9 years;
- Ireland – 9.8 years;
- Hungary – 10.2 years;
- Estonia – 10.8 years;
- Serbia – 11.8 years;
- Czechia – 13.3 years;
- Slovakia – 14.1 years.
Real estate prices in European countries
Last year, almost all of Europe experienced an increase in real estate prices. The highest prices for purchasing an apartment were recorded in Austria and Germany, followed by France and Norway. The largest increase in housing prices occurred in Zagreb and Sarajevo. Copenhagen (Denmark) was the only capital where prices for new apartments decreased.
Photo: New buildings in Poland (pixabay.com)
Overall, the average prices per square meter of housing in European countries are as follows:
- Austria – 4925 euros/sq. m;
- Germany – 4800 euros/sq. m;
- France – 4639 euros/sq. m;
- Norway – 4204 euros/sq. m;
- Netherlands – 4116 euros/sq. m;
- UK – 3980 euros/sq. m;
- Czechia – 3753 euros/sq. m;
- Ireland – 3473 euros/sq. m;
- Estonia – 3122 euros/sq. m;
- Lithuania – 3215 euros/sq. m;
- Belgium, Denmark – 3104 euros/sq. m;
- Spain – 2663 euros/sq. m;
- Italy – 2371 euros/sq. m;
- Poland – 1975 euros/sq. m;
- Romania – 1417 euros/sq. m;
- Greece – 1330 euros/sq. m.
Despite the challenging economic situation, the most apartments were built in France (482.2 thousand) and Poland (238.6 thousand).
We also previously wrote about the cost of buying a house in European countries. In the second quarter of 2023, prices for such real estate decreased by 1.1%.
