Housing in Europe – 2024 edition

“Housing in Europe – 2024 edition” is an interactive statistical publication produced by Eurostat (the statistical office of the European Union) that compiles comparable indicators on housing conditions, housing costs, environmental impacts, construction activity and land use across EU countries and regions. The publication lists Eurostat as publisher; individual authors are not named.

Across the EU in 2023, 69% of people lived in owner-occupied housing and 31% in rented accommodation, with large national differences. Home ownership was highest in Romania (96%), followed by Slovakia (94%), and Croatia and Hungary (both 91%). Germany was the exception where renting was more common (52% tenants), with Austria (46%) and Denmark (40%) also having relatively large tenant shares. Housing types also vary: in 2023, 51.7% of the EU population lived in houses, 47.7% in flats and 0.6% in other accommodation. Ireland had the highest share living in houses (90%), while in cities 72% of residents lived in flats (vs 27% in houses).

The publication reports an EU average of 1.6 rooms per person in 2023, ranging from 2.2 rooms per person in Luxembourg and Malta to 1.1 in Poland. Average household size was 2.3 persons in 2023, with higher values in countries such as Slovakia (3.1) and lower values in Finland and Lithuania (1.9). In terms of adequacy, 16.8% of the EU population lived in overcrowded homes in 2023 (down from 19.1% in 2010). Overcrowding was highest in Latvia (40.9%) and Romania (40.0%), and lowest in Cyprus (2.2%), Malta (2.4%) and the Netherlands (3.8%). The counterpart measure, under-occupation, affected 33.3% of the EU population in 2023, reaching 71.3% in Cyprus and falling to 7.2% in Romania.

Quality indicators include the ability to keep homes adequately warm and the presence of defects such as a leaking roof or damp. In 2023, 10.6% of the EU population could not afford to keep their home adequately warm; the highest shares were observed in Spain and Portugal (both 20.8%) and Bulgaria (20.7%), while Luxembourg (2.1%), Finland (2.6%) and Slovenia (3.6%) were among the lowest. A further 15.5% of the EU population reported problems such as a leaking roof, damp or rot in 2023, with Cyprus (31.6%), Portugal (29.0%) and Spain (23.0%) among the highest.

Housing contributes to emissions through household fuel use for heating, cooling, hot water and cooking. Eurostat reports EU household greenhouse gas emissions for heating and cooling at 647 kg per capita in 2022 (down from 920 kg in 2010). Values ranged widely, from 1,296 kg per capita in Luxembourg to 27 kg in Sweden (with Portugal at 126 and Finland at 147). On the renovation side, 25.5% of EU residents aged 16+ lived in dwellings whose energy efficiency had been improved in the previous five years (2023), commonly via better insulation, window replacement and more efficient heating systems; the Netherlands recorded 59% and Malta 8%.

In 2023, EU households spent on average 19.7% of disposable income on housing, with higher shares in Greece (35.2%) and Denmark (25.9%). Since 2010, house prices in the EU increased by 48% through 2023 (with a slight decrease of 0.3% in 2023), while rents rose by 22% overall (with Greece the exception, at -20%). The publication also highlights affordability stress: housing cost overburden (housing costs above 40% of disposable income) was 10.6% in cities versus 7.0% in rural areas in 2023, and arrears on mortgage, rent or utility bills affected 9.3% of people in 2023 (down from 12.4% in 2010).

Construction producer prices for new residential buildings rose by 52% in the EU between 2010 and 2023 (largest annual increase 12% in 2022). Investment in housing represented 5.8% of EU GDP in 2023, ranging from 8.6% in Cyprus to 2.2% in Poland. Building permits (dwellings granted permits) fell by 20% in 2022, and land-use statistics indicate that in 2018, 2.9% of EU land was used for residential purposes (including residential gardens), with very large regional differences (e.g., 33% in Berlin).