Latvia

The Latvian housing market in 2025 is characterized by high home ownership, with 83.7% of residents owning their homes and about 16% renting. Median purchase prices show significant variation: in Riga, secondary (existing) apartments average 848 euros per sqm, while new apartments are priced around 2,640 to 2,980 euros per sqm. Regional cities offer lower prices, down to about 222 euros per sqm in cities like Daugavpils. Rental prices per sqm are not explicitly detailed in the latest sources, but tend to be much lower than in Western Europe.

Publicly owned housing, including social housing, plays a very limited role, accounting for less than 2% of the total housing stock. This is among the lowest social housing shares in the OECD and points to persistent shortages for low-income and vulnerable groups. Public housing (owned by municipalities) is not universally synonymous with social housing in Latvian cities; specifically, social housing is reserved for low-income residents and regulated strictly by local authorities, while other municipality-owned housing can be let to broader populations or as part of professional support schemes.

Latvia’s government and municipalities are working to increase affordable rental opportunities, but the market remains dominated by ownership and a private rental sector. Public and social housing availability continues to lag well behind most other European states.

The housing crisis in Latvia is defined by significant affordability and accessibility gaps, particularly for low-income, elderly, and vulnerable residents. While home ownership remains high, the real estate market has seen dramatic price growth: property values across Latvia are up nearly 98% from 2015, and new housing prices in Riga have surged over 11% in the past year. This trend puts modern, energy-efficient homes out of reach for many Latvians, especially in urban areas, where 70% of residential properties are now concentrated.

Homelessness is a visible, persistent challenge; there are long queues for social housing, with some pensioners holding positions as far back as number 360. Risk factors for homelessness include job loss, health issues, and lack of family support, and people of pre-retirement age represent around 30% of shelter populations. Social stigmas and insufficient state action exacerbate these issues. Nearly a quarter of the population—24%—is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, making the housing shortage especially acute for these groups. There remains a chronic undersupply of affordable and social housing, with waitlists growing and a lack of coordinated data making the true scale of the problem difficult to quantify. Gaps between available housing stock and growing demand, especially in urban centers, leave at-risk groups without secure, long-term accommodation options.

Latvia's national government has established Housing Availability Guidelines for 2023-2027, focusing primarily on increasing affordable and sustainable housing for all income groups, especially the most vulnerable. The Latvian Ministry of Economics leads this strategy, aiming to expand construction volumes in regions with rising business activity, improve existing stock, and support specific age and social demographics. Recent targets include the construction of at least 2,260 affordable rental apartments nationwide by 2030—1000 of which are prioritized for completion—alongside renovation of approximately 900 apartments in 25 municipalities. Concretely, the government works in partnership with the European Investment Bank and leverages the European Regional Development Fund to provide up to 85% grants for local municipal projects building new residential buildings or renovating old ones for vulnerable populations. Collaboration agreements between the State Real Estate Company and municipalities support energy-efficient housing, particularly for essential public sector workers. In 2025, EUR 18.47 million in additional funding was allocated for social housing construction. These actions reflect the government's push to address long waiting lists, improve quality, and drive sustainability through both new developments and modernization programs.

Housing cooperatives play a marginal role in Latvia’s housing sector and represent only a very small portion of the national housing stock, especially compared to Western and Northern European countries. There is no specific statistic indicating the exact share of cooperative housing units, but sector estimates and national data suggest it is significantly below 1% of total housing. Housing cooperatives—mostly remnant from the Soviet era—function primarily as administrative bodies for jointly owned apartment buildings (so-called "apartment owners' cooperatives") rather than as actively developing or expanding membership-based entities.

The cooperative housing sector in Latvia has not experienced notable growth or renewal in recent years. The legislative framework for cooperatives exists, but there are few new cooperative housing projects. Cooperative development is overshadowed by a dominant culture of home ownership and a private rental market, coupled with limited access to affordable construction financing and restricted government support. Most national policy actions and public programs focus on expanding affordable rental, social, and municipal housing—not specifically on housing cooperatives. There are no major national initiatives or dedicated funding streams to promote modern cooperative housing models. State housing policy and investment measures primarily target renovation and increase of municipality-owned affordable rentals, not cooperative growth. As a result, housing cooperatives in Latvia remain a minor and largely stagnating element of the housing system.