Desk Report: Portugal was the 7th country that recorded the biggest year-on-year increase in the prices of houses for sale at the beginning of 2024.

After falling for almost a year, house prices in Europe are showing signs of recovery, falling just 0.4% in the eurozone and rising 1.3% in the European Union (EU) in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. In Portugal, house prices continue to rise, but more slowly, according to Eurostat data.

“In the first quarter of 2024, house prices, measured in 'House Price Index', fell by 0.4% in the eurozone and rose by 1.3% in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year”, reveals Eurostat in the statistical note. House rents in the EU increased more compared to the same period last year (+3%).

This data confirms that the cost of purchasing housing is on the road to recovery in Europe (as are sales) after falling for almost a year. It was in the summer of 2023 that the biggest year-on-year drops in this indicator were recorded (-2.2% in the eurozone and -1.1% in the EU), which can be explained by the decline in house sales in Europe during this period of high interest rates on housing loans and high inflation.

The resumption of the upward trajectory is also visible when comparing with data from the first quarter: “Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, house prices fell by 0.1% in the eurozone and rose by 0.4% in the EU in the first quarter 2024”, reads the same note. And the rental price in the EU rose 0.9% between these two moments.

Where are prices rising?

Looking at the Member States for which data is available (all except Greece), 19 showed an annual increase in house prices at the beginning of 2024. The biggest increases were recorded in Poland (+18.0%), Bulgaria (+16.0%), and Lithuania (+9.9%). Portugal was the seventh country to record the biggest year-on-year increase in the prices of houses for sale (7%), an indicator that slowed down compared to the previous quarter (7.8%).

On the other hand, Eurostat reports that seven Member States showed an annual decrease in house prices, with the biggest falls recorded in Luxembourg (-10.9%), Germany (-5.7%) and France ( -4.8%).

Compared to the previous quarter, house prices for purchase increased in 18 Member States and fell in eight. The biggest increases were recorded in Bulgaria (+7.1%), Hungary (+5.1%) and Poland (+4.3%), while the biggest drops were seen in Denmark (-2.5%), France (-2.1%) and Slovakia (-1.7%).

In this list, Portugal appears in the middle of the table with a slight quarterly increase of 0.6% - having been 1.3% in the previous quarter, confirming the slowdown in the rise in house prices in the country.

Biniyougbarta/SAM//