Deloitte: Housing in Romania is among cheapest in Europe, Austria is most expensive

Housing in Romania continues to be among the most affordable in Europe, according to the Deloitte Property Index 2023. The country ranks third in the top of the European countries with the cheapest housing, after Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece, with an average price of EUR 1,417/sqm for a new dwelling, up from EUR 1,266/sqm in 2021.

On the opposite end, Austria is the most expensive European country, with EUR 4,925/sqm in 2022. Next come Germany (EUR 4,800/sqm), France (EUR 4,639/sqm), and Norway (EUR 4,204/sqm).

The 12th edition of the Deloitte Property Index study analyzes the evolution of the residential real estate market in 27 countries and 76 cities in 2022. All price statistics collected are converted into euro to provide comparable results.

According to the new index, most of the countries saw increases in average prices for new dwellings, while drops were noted only in the United Kingdom (-18.8%), Denmark (-9.7%) and France (-0.2%).

Meanwhile, Paris tops the ranking of the European cities with the most expensive housing, with an average price of EUR 14,622/sqm for a new apartment. Munich comes second with EUR 11,400 EUR/sqm, followed by London in third - EUR 9,163/sqm.

In Romania, the most expensive city is Cluj-Napoca, with EUR 2,363/sqm and a 21.8% increase compared to the previous year, while Bucharest ranks second, with EUR 1,693/sqm. According to Deloitte, this places Romania among the few European states in which the most expensive city is not the capital, alongside Ireland - whose ranking is led by Cork City, Italy - where Rome is surpassed by Milan, and Spain - where Barcelona ranks first.

The same index revealed that when it comes to the rental market, Dublin is the most expensive European city, with a monthly price level of EUR 32.8/sqm. The second-ranked is Paris, with prices at EUR 28.5/sqm, followed by Oslo (EUR 28/sqm).

At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria continues to be the country with the lowest average rental prices, with UR 4.6 EUR/sqm for those who live in Sofia, followed by Greece, where the average monthly rent for those who live in Thessaloniki is EUR 6.6/sqm.

Romania is also among the countries with the lowest rents. The most expensive Romanian city analyzed is Cluj-Napoca, with an average monthly rent of EUR 8.6/sqm, while Bucharest tenants pay an average of EUR 8.1/sqm per month.

The study also revealed that an average Romanian needs 6.3 annual gross salaries to purchase a 70 sqm dwelling, ranking sixth in the top of the best affordability, after Belgium (4.3 gross annual salaries), Norway (4.7 gross annual salaries), Denmark (5), Slovenia (5.6) and Italy (6.2).

Slovakia is the least affordable among the analyzed European countries, with 14.1 gross annual salaries needed to buy a new home, followed by the Czech Republic (13.3 gross annual salaries).