EUROSTAT European Union Statistical Office : House prices up by 3.4% in the euro area

14/2017 - 19 January 2017

Third quarter of 2016 compared with third quarter of 2015

House prices up by 3.4% in the euro area

Up by 4.3% in the EU

House prices, as measured by the House Price Index, rose by 3.4% in the euro area and by 4.3% in the EU in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. These figures come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Compared with the second quarter of 2016, house prices rose by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU in the third quarter of 2016.

House prices - annual rate of change for the euro area and the EU (%)

Euro area EU

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

House price developments in the EU Member States

Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in house prices in the third quarter of 2016 were recorded in Hungary (+11.6%), Latvia (+10.8%) and Bulgaria (+8.8%), while falls were observed in Cyprus (-3.3%) and Italy (-0.9%).

Compared with the previous quarter, the highest increases were recorded in Malta (+5.4%), Ireland (+4.7%),

Estonia, Lithuania and Hungary (all +3.4%), while a decrease was observed in Romania (-0.7%). Quarterly and annual changes in house prices

Change compared with the previous quarter, %				Change compared with the same quarter of the previous year, %
2015	2016			2015	2016
Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3
Euro areap	0.1	0.5	1.5	1.3	2.6	3.1	3.0	3.4
EUp	0.4	0.7	1.6	1.5	3.5	4.1	4.1	4.3
Belgium	-0.5	-0.8	1.2	2.9	1.5	3.2	2.2	2.9
Bulgariap	3.0	1.1	2.8	1.6	4.0	4.6	6.5	8.8
Czech Republic	1.0	1.2	2.0	2.4	4.5	4.6	5.7	6.9
Denmark	-0.4	2.4	2.2	0.9	7.1	5.3	4.0	5.2
Germany	1.4	0.6	2.9	1.2	5.9	4.8	5.5	6.2
Estonia	0.8	-0.1	3.1	3.4	5.1	2.0	1.8	7.4
Ireland	2.0	-0.4	0.6	4.7	4.4	5.5	5.3	7.1
Greece	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:
Spain	0.0	1.4	1.8	0.8	4.3	6.3	3.8	4.0
France	-0.8	-0.4	0.5	2.5	-0.2	0.4	0.7	1.8
Croatia	0.1	1.2	-0.9	1.0	-2.1	0.2	1.2	1.4
Italyp	-1.1	-0.2	0.3	0.1	-1.7	-1.0	-0.8	-0.9
Cyprus*	-3.0	-2.9	2.4	0.2	-2.1	-1.0	-1.7	-3.3
Latvia	2.5	0.6	5.8	1.6	6.6	7.1	9.5	10.8
Lithuania	-2.1	0.8	3.1	3.4	3.3	3.4	3.4	5.3
Luxembourg**	-0.2	1.6	2.7	1.5	3.7	4.9	5.6	5.6
Hungary	1.8	4.4	1.4	3.4	12.1	14.1	11.1	11.6
Malta	0.3	-3.5	2.9	5.4	5.2	4.3	6.4	4.9
Netherlands	0.9	1.4	0.6	1.1	4.8	5.1	5.3	4.0
Austria	-1.7	4.2	2.3	0.5	6.4	13.4	9.0	5.2
Poland	-0.7	0.1	0.8	1.9	1.0	1.0	0.4	2.1
Portugal	1.2	1.8	3.1	1.3	5.0	6.9	6.3	7.6
Romania	1.5	3.3	2.8	-0.7	2.8	2.6	6.8	7.1
Slovenia	0.0	2.2	1.9	0.8	0.1	0.8	0.4	5.0
Slovakia	1.1	1.8	2.8	1.6	4.8	5.0	5.9	7.5
Finland	-0.1	0.2	0.9	0.0	0.5	0.4	0.7	1.1
Sweden	2.0	2.4	0.1	2.4	14.2	12.5	8.7	7.1
United Kingdom	1.2	1.1	2.9	1.9	6.4	7.9	8.7	7.3
Iceland	2.2	2.1	1.6	3.9	8.7	7.9	7.3	10.2
Norway	-0.8	2.7	4.2	2.6	5.5	4.6	6.5	8.9

* see country note

** excluding newly built single-family houses

: data not available p provisional

The source datasets are available here (compared with the previous quarter) and here (compared with the same quarter of the previous year)

Geographical information

The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The European Union includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The data refers to the euro area and EU country compositions at a specific point in time. New Member States are integrated into the aggregates using a chain index formula.

Methods and definitions

The House Price Index (HPI) measures the price changes of all residential properties purchased by households (flats, detached houses, terraced houses, etc.), both newly built and existing, independently of their final use and independently of their previous owners. The Member States' HPIs are compiled by the National Statistical Institutes. The euro area and the EU aggregate HPIs are compiled by Eurostat. HPIs are computed as annually chained indices with weights being updated each year. The European HPI aggregates are currently calculated as weighted averages of the national HPIs using as weights the GDP at market prices (expressed in millions Purchasing Power Standards - PPS) of the countries concerned.

The figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Missing country data is estimated by Eurostat using data from non-harmonised sources. These estimates are not published but are used to calculate euro area and EU aggregates.

Country note:

Cyprus: The break in the series for Q1 2015 observable in the database is due to model refinement and the exploitation of more data available. Full details can be found on the CYSTAT website here.

Revisions and time table

Compared with News Release 195/2016 of 12 October 2016, the annual growth rate for the second quarter of 2016 has been revised from +2.9% to +3.0% for the euro area and from +4.0% to +4.1% for the EU. The quarterly growth rate has been revised from +1.4% to +1.5% for the euro area and remains unchanged at +1.6% for the EU.

For more information

Eurostat website section on HPI Eurostat database section on HPI

Eurostat Statistics Explained article on housing price statistics Eurostat Handbook on Residential Property Price Indices Eurostat €-indicators release calendar

Issued by: Eurostat Press Office

Vincent BOURGEAIS Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

ec.europa.eu/eurostat/

For further information on data and methodology:

Oana SIMENE Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

@EU_Eurostat

Media requests: Eurostat media support / Tel: [phone] / [e-mail]