The Most & Least Affordable European Cities To Buy A Home

28-06-2021 | Landlord News

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Now lockdowns across the continent are gradually lifting, we can safely start thinking about crossing borders again. Have you ever wondered what housing prices in Europe’s capitals are like?

A study by CIA Landlord Insurance did some digging and indexed all major cities based on their average prices for buying a home in an effort to determine which are the cheapest, as well as the most expensive.

The Top 10 Most Expensive Home Locations In Europe: Paris Revealed As Priciest

Our research found that the highest average price of a house in Europe is actually not in London, as many would expect. It is actually the French capital of Paris that takes the title of the most expensive European city to buy a home at an average of a staggering £534,226.88. Despite this, about 65% of the French own their homes.

London does however come in second place. A house in this English metropol will set you back £500,310 on average, which is an eye-watering £11,092 per square meter. It comes as no surprise, with housing prices climbing year on year, that it is expected that by 2025 about 60% of Londoners will live in rented accommodation. A one-bed flat in the city centre of London costs £1,666 per month on average, or £1,253 if you’re renting outside the city centre. Based on the average price of a house and income, it would take an estimate of 40 years to afford a house in the UK.

Following suit is Luxembourg, where a house carries an average price tag of £480,027. This comes down to about £9,678 per square meter if you are looking for a house in the city centre, or about £7,073 per square metre outside the city.

Rank	Country	Population (2020)	Capital city	Average price of buying a house (£)*	Average buying price per Sq. M. – City Center	Average monthly rent of a 1 bed flat – City Center	Average cost of living – Single person	Average price of basic utilities	Average Monthly Net Salary
1	France	65,273,511	Paris	£534,227	£11,798	£1,053	£1,517	£152	£2,470
2	United Kingdom	67,886,011	London	£500,310	£11,093	£1,666	£2,048	£177	£3,146
3	Luxembourg	625,978	Luxembourg	£480,027	£9,679	£1,345	£1,860	£199	£3,320
4	Sweden	10,099,265	Stockholm	£366,631	£8,474	£1,089	£1,548	£71	£2,492
5	Switzerland	8,654,622	Bern	£353,194	£6,185	£1,137	£1,894	£138	£4,140
6	The Netherlands	17,134,872	Amsterdam	£349,849	£6,464	£1,347	£1,819	£140	£2,531
7	Norway	5,421,241	Oslo	£347,788	£7,393	£1,117	£1,737	£107	£2,887
8	Denmark	5,792,202	Copenhagen	£319,815	£5,861	£1,210	£1,758	£153	£2,727
9	Finland	5,540,720	Helsinki	£313,472	£7,048	£867	£1,340	£75	£2,200
10	Ireland	4,937,786	Dublin	£303,184	£4,717	£1,445	£1,929	£136	£2,375

The Top 15 Cheapest Cities To Buy A Home In Europe

Our study also found the 15 cities in Europe where it is a little more wallet-friendly to buy a house. Moldova ranks first, with the average price of a house under 50k at £49,673, or £831 per square metre in the city centre and £543 outside the city respectively. Paired with an average monthly bill of £84 for basic utilities, Moldova is an incredibly affordable place to live.

For a few thousand pounds more on average, one can buy a home in North Macedonia, where a vast majority of nearly 89% Macedonians owns their home. Here the average price tag of a house comes down to £56,516, which is roughly £1,079 per square metre in the centre of its capital Skopje, or £771 outside the city.

The third country offering bargain homes is Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a house will set you back £66,064 on average.

Rank	Country	Capital city	Average price of buying a house (£)*	Average buying price per Sq. M. – City Center	Average monthly rent of a 1 bed flat – City Center	Average cost of living – Single person	Average price of basic utilities	Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
1	Moldova	Chișinău	£49,673	£832	£250	£475	£84	£301
2	North Macedonia	Skopje	£56,516	£1,079	£212	£484	£96	£354
3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	£66,064	£1,384	£223	£507	£103	£558
4	Albania	Tirana	£66,673	£1,472	£254	£495	£60	£338
5	Belarus	Minsk	£72,517	£1,422	£288	£478	£33	£327
6	Montenegro	Podgorica	£73,717	£1,331	£284	£584	£95	£432
7	Bulgaria	Sofia	£80,198	£1,472	£316	£618	£86	£663
8	Ukraine	Kyiv	£81,566	£1,494	£406	£548	£73	£433
9	Romania	Bucharest	£85,512	£1,614	£346	£617	£86	£623
10	Latvia	Riga	£93,456	£1,769	£380	£758	£146	£777
11	Greece	Athens	£94,546	£1,459	£344	£803	£121	£713
12	Serbia	Belgrade	£99,658	£2,267	£309	£581	£121	£455
13	Lithuania	Vilnius	£120,451	£2,482	£452	£723	£98	£889
14	Croatia	Zagreb	£123,162	£2,517	£407	£791	£145	£825
15	Hungary	Budapest	£124,721	£2,581	£376	£715	£125	£756

The Top 10 Most Affordable Cities To Buy A Home In Western Europe

When looking at just the popular western European cities, the Belgian city of Brussels comes out as the cheapest place to buy a house. For just £190,241 on average, you can live in the heart of the European Union. This comes down to £3,148 and £2,550 per square meter respectively, and with an average monthly bill of £144 and the low cost of living, this metropol turns out to be a very budget-friendly place to live. Based on the average price tag of private property and income, it would take just 23 years to buy a house in Brussels.

The second cheapest city to buy a house in Western Europe, is Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. This British holiday favourite offers homes for an average price of just under 200k at £195,988, and with an average cost of living of around £1,000 per person per month, it’s super affordable to relocate to the Portuguese sun for a permanent vacation.

Not far off from Portugal and another British holiday classic is Spain, which ranks as the third-cheapest country in western Europe to buy a house. A Spanish home will set you back £212,339 on average, or £4,273 per square metre in the city centre and £2,638 outside the centre.

Rank	Country	Capital city	Average price of buying a house (£)*	Average buying price per Sq. M. – City Center	Average monthly rent of a 1 bed flat – City Center	Average cost of living – Single person	Average price of basic utilities	Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
1	Belgium	Brussels	£190,241	£3,149	£738	£1,255	£114	£2,105
2	Portugal	Lisbon	£195,988	£3,914	£741	£1,048	£101	£848
3	Spain	Madrid	£212,339	£4,273	£757	£1,129	£112	£1,404
4	Iceland	Reykjavík	£242,221	£3,609	£1,176	£1,868	£83	£2,417
5	Germany	Berlin	£257,616	£5,367	£797	£1,212	£188	£2,255
6	Italy	Rome	£260,295	£5,954	£831	£1,254	£158	£1,252
7	Austria	Vienna	£288,222	£6,628	£763	£1,186	£168	£1,924
8	Ireland	Dublin	£303,184	£4,717	£1,445	£1,929	£136	£2,375
9	Finland	Helsinki	£313,472	£7,048	£867	£1,340	£75	£2,200
10	Denmark	Copenhagen	£319,815	£5,861	£1,210	£1,758	£153	£2,727

It Takes 76 Years To Buy An Average Home In Malta

It’s a rule of thumb that we shouldn’t be spending more than one-third of our net monthly income on housing. With this in mind, how long would it take with an average salary to buy an average home in Europe’s capitals?

Malta takes first place by a landslide. With an average salary after tax of just £823 and house prices being non-reflective of this, it would take 76 years to pay off a home.

Following suit is Russia. Whilst a home priced at £184,292 doesn’t seem like much from a UK perspective, with the average Russian income of just £728 it becomes a lot less affordable. Based on these numbers, it would take you about 63 years to call the house yours.

A national British favourite, Portugal, is not at all affordable either. Portuguese homes carry an average price tag of £195,988, which on an average salary of just £848 after tax each month, would take you 58 years to pay for.

Rank	Country	Capital city	Average price of buying a house (£)*	Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)	How many years it takes to afford a house
1	Malta	Valletta	£250,531	£823	76
2	Russia	Moscow	£184,292	£728	63
3	Portugal	Lisbon	£195,988	£848	58
4	Belarus	Minsk	£72,517	£327	55
5	Serbia	Belgrade	£99,658	£455	55
6	France	Paris	£534,227	£2,470	54
7	Italy	Rome	£260,295	£1,252	52
8	Poland	Warsaw	£176,616	£862	51
9	Albania	Tirana	£66,673	£338	50
10	Czech Republic	Prague	£216,790	£1,112	49

It Takes Just 21 Years To Buy A Home In Switzerland

When thinking about European countries where homes may be most affordable, Switzerland is likely the last place you’d think of. With house prices being relatively low at an average of £353,194 whilst simultaneously having rather high average incomes of about £4,140 after tax a month, owning a home here becomes a lot more realistic. Based on these numbers, it would only take about 21 years to purchase a house.

Another very affordable place is at the heart of Europe: Belgium. Here the average home goes for about £190,24, which on the average net income of £2,105 would take a modest 23 years to pay off.

Rank	Country	Capital city	Average price of buying a house (£)*	Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)	How many years it takes to afford a house	Percentage of homeowners
1	Switzerland	Bern	£353,194	£4,140	21	43.40
2	Belgium	Brussels	£190,241	£2,105	23	72.30
3	Iceland	Reykjavík	£242,221	£2,417	25	74.10
4	Germany	Berlin	£257,616	£2,255	29	51.50
5	Denmark	Copenhagen	£319,815	£2,727	29	60.80
6	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	£66,064	£558	30
7	Estonia	Tallinn	£124,869	£1,051	30	81.70
8	Latvia	Riga	£93,456	£777	30	80.20
9	Norway	Oslo	£347,788	£2,887	30	81.30
10	Bulgaria	Sofia	£80,198	£663	30	84.10

Methodology

All European capital cities were included in our study. March 2021 used as the latest date for house- and cost of living-related prices.

An average of all housing-relevant prices in London excluding the full price of a home has been used as an index. The house price was divided by this index to give a factor. This factor was then multiplied by the equivalent indices for all other locations to give an estimated housing price.

* Based on an average of all housing-relevant prices in London excluding the full price of a home has been used as an index. The house price was divided by this index to give a factor. This factor was then multiplied by the equivalent indices for all other locations to give an estimated house price.

** The length of time it would take to buy property is based on the average price of a house divided by one-third of the average net monthly income, which is the standard portion of income that is generally contributed to the cost of housing.