Europe's Great Housing Divergence

The EU housing market grew 5.1% year-on-year in Q1 2026, according to Eurostat data published July 2, 2026. That single number hides a split that’s getting wider.

Portugal is up 17.8%, more than three times the EU average, driven by tight supply and steady foreign demand in Lisbon and the Algarve. Bulgaria and Slovakia accelerated too, up 14.8% and 14.4%.

Finland is the outlier in the other direction: the only EU country where prices actually fell year-on-year, down 2.0%. France is nearly flat at 0.1%, one of just two countries where prices dropped quarter-on-quarter.

Worth remembering next time someone quotes “the European housing market” as if it’s one thing.

What this doesn’t show: Bulgaria joined the euro area on January 1, 2026, changing the composition of the “euro area” aggregate across the Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 boundary, so quarter-on-quarter comparisons for the euro area as a whole should be read with some caution.