A new analysis of rental trends in 28 European cities has found that house prices rose again in the second quarter of 2024. The International Rental Index by City is compiled quarterly by rental platform HousingAnywhere and finds that “price growth regained momentum” in the second quarter of 2024.
Overall, European rents rose 4.3% year-on-year during the quarter, which compares with an overall increase of 3.8% in the previous quarter. Room rates rose 3.5% in the second quarter, with apartments up 4.2% and studios up 5.4%.
“It's the start of peak season for students and young professionals looking for new housing before the new semester begins after the summer holidays, and rent prices are expected to rise, meaning people looking for housing will have to start their search earlier and make some compromises,” says Djordy Seelmann, CEO of HousingAnywhere. “Meanwhile, elections have recently been held in several European countries, and we will have to wait and see whether the new governments see expanding the housing stock as a sensible solution to the looming house affordability challenges.”
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 have been listed on the HousingAnywhere platform in the past year and have attracted interest from potential tenants.
As is common with broad regional studies, the HousingAnywhere index found wide variation in price fluctuations across Europe: German and Dutch cities included in the index sample remain among the continent's most expensive, but “major cities in southern Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain, are gaining ground.”
For example, Rome saw the highest increase in room prices (19.2% year-on-year), while Madrid saw the highest increase in apartment prices (20%).
Prices can range from up to €1,007 in Amsterdam and €855 in Hamburg, but budget locations like Athens, Valencia and Budapest will reliably see monthly rates below €400.
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Meanwhile, studio space is in short supply, which is leading to greater price volatility (and more rapid price increases) in the category, the report concludes.
Many cities also reported significant increases in apartment rents, especially Madrid (+20%) and The Hague (+18%), with prices ranging from €1,500 to over €2,000 in many cities. HousingAnywhere adds that “of the apartments analyzed, 57% were one-bedroom apartments, 31% were two-bedroom apartments, and 12% were three-bedroom apartments.”
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