Migration from smaller to larger cities has seen significant growth over the past 10 years. The pace of this process is constantly increasing, and this leads to a shortage of housing in larger cities, a shortage of plots, and a corresponding increase in the price of both finished apartments and plots. It also leads to a decrease in potential buyers - the more expensive the homes, the smaller the number of potential buyers.
Studies by a number of large European consulting companies show that for the period 2013-2020. accessibility to the housing market in a number of European cities has improved. However, the pandemic caused by the coronavirus has reversed the trend - There has been a significant increase in housing prices, respectively, affordability has decreased.
Also, housing prices in some cities may be low, but this does not mean that affordability is high, analysts warn. An example of this is Athens, which tops the ranking of the most unaffordable European cities in terms of acquiring a home, according to a report by Oxford Economics. In the Greek capital, 28% of city residents have housing costs significantly exceeding the accepted norms. The reasons for this lie in several facts. First, our southern neighbor reports the highest unemployment rate of all EU countries. Second, wages are stagnant. At the same time, rental levels have increased significantly. Since 2018, stable income growth has begun to be reported, but it has not been able to catch up with housing prices, the increase in which since 2018 has amounted to 60%.
In second place in the ranking is Copenhagen. The problem here is a strong demand for housing and an extremely limited supply of such, which leads to a significant increase in the price of this type of property. The forecast is that over the next 5 years the process of price increase as a result of these two factors will continue.
In third place in the ranking is Germany. It is difficult to determine in which of the ten largest cities the housing deficit is the greatest. For example, Berlin and Hamburg are less affordable for buying a home than any average European city.
Detailed statistics on the average property prices in Bulgaria by cities and neighborhoods can be seen HERE