House prices and rents continued to rise across the EU in early 2026. This comes as households spent almost one fifth (18.9%) of their disposable income on housing in 2025. In some countries, that share exceeded 30%.
In the first quarter of 2026, house prices in the EU rose by 5.1% and rents increased by 3.0% compared with a year earlier. Both outpaced the EU inflation rate of 2.3%, although the pace of growth varied widely across Europe, according to Eurostat.
