Real Estate: Property Becoming Increasingly Expensive in Austria
Real Estate prices continue to rise in Austria despite the COVID-19 pandemic. While the property market is becoming increasingly expensive, rents in Vienna remain fairly affordable. Learn the new cost of buying property in Austria and how it compares with the rest of Europe.
In Austria, the average price per square meter has risen by around 6 percent compared to the previous year. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Simon Legner (User:simon04), CC BY-SA 4.0
Despite the crisis caused by COVID-19, a study shows that property prices in Austria have risen.
When searching for a place to buy in Austria, one can now expect an average price of € 4,457 per square meter. Thus, the average price per square meter has risen by around six percent compared to the previous year.
Expensive property in Austria
If the prices are set in relation to the average gross annual salary in the respective country, it takes an average of 10.6 gross annual salaries to buy a new 70 square meter apartment. In a European comparison, this puts Austria near the front of the pack. In Serbia, the purchase of a condominium is by far the most expensive, requiring more than 15 gross annual salaries. The Czech Republic ranks second with 12.2, followed by Slovakia and Austria with 10.6 gross annual salaries each. In Ireland, on the other hand, a condominium is the most affordable–only requiring 3.1 gross annual salaries.
Gabriele Etzl, real estate expert and partner at Jank Weiler Operenyi/Deloitte Legal, explains, “Despite the Corona crisis year, housing prices in Austria continue to go up. Rising construction costs and the high attractiveness of real estate as an investment are the main reasons for this price development. Currently, everything indicates that this trend will intensify in the coming months.”
Austria in first place for housing initiatives
Austria is an international leader in residential construction projects, with 10.9 construction projects initiated per 1,000 inhabitants in 2020. Romania and Poland follow in second and third place with 7.5 and 5.9 planned housing units, respectively. Latvia ranks last, with 1.2 construction projects per 1,000 inhabitants.
Vienna remains affordable for tenants
In a European comparison, renting is the most expensive in Paris. Renting an apartment there costs around € 28.60 per square meter per month. Tenants in London and Oslo also have to reckon with a price per square meter of over € 20 per month. The largest year-over-year increase in rent was recorded in Lyon, at around 24 percent. There was also notable growth in Austria: In Graz, an average of € 9.59 per square meter must be spent on monthly rent. In Vienna, on the other hand, rents are still pretty affordable compared with other European capitals. On average, a rental apartment in Vienna costs € 8.65 per square meter.
Regarding the results of the study by Deloitte, Gabriele Etzl says, “Vienna is still an affordable tenant city. This is due, among other things, to subsidized housing and Austria's comprehensive tenancy law. The current study proves for Austria: renting is affordable for a broad section of the population, but owning is increasingly becoming a luxury.”