House prices and incomes in Europe: Where is it getting harder to buy a home?

How far does a household’s income go when buying a home? In 17 EU countries, it bought less in 2025 than it did a decade earlier. Eurostat’s house price-to-income ratio, showing how household income is changing relative to house prices, rose by 6.8% across the EU over that period, though it fell in 10 member states, Euronews writes.

Meanwhile, house prices in the EU rose by 62% in the ten years to the second quarter of 2026. In response to the housing crisis across the bloc, the European Commission presented its European Affordable Housing Plan in December 2025.

Between 2015 and 2025, Portugal recorded the largest increase in the house price-to-income ratio, at 60.8%. The Netherlands followed at 34.3%.

The ratio also jumped by more than 20% in Hungary (26.5%), Czechia (25.8%), Spain (24.5%) and Greece (22.5%). This means homes became less affordable in these countries, as house prices rose faster than incomes.

The ratio also rose by more than 10% in Slovenia (18.2%), Ireland (14.4%), Austria (13.6%), Slovakia (11.2%), Luxembourg (10.6%) and Lithuania (10.1%).

At the other end, Romania’s ratio fell by 42.8%, the biggest drop in the EU. House prices were substantially lower relative to household incomes in 2025 than in 2015.

The house price-to-income ratio also fell by 25.2% in Finland and 16.2% in Bulgaria. Cyprus (12%) and Italy (11.9%) also recorded double-digit declines.