EU house prices on the rise

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Overall house prices climbed 11 percent in the EU between 2010 and 2017, Eurostat said on Tuesday.

The report showed that among the member states, the highest growths were recorded in Sweden (56 percent), Austria (49 percent), Latvia (47 percent) and Luxembourg (40 percent), while the biggest dips were recorded in Spain (17 percent), Italy (15 percent) and Cyprus (9 percent).

Since 2006, the house prices -- including newly built and existing houses and apartments -- have oscillated dramatically, the report revealed.

"Annual growth rates in the EU were around 8 percent in 2006 and 2007, followed by a fall of 4 percent in 2009 as a result of the financial crisis, while prices started growing again in 2014," said Eurostat.

House prices rose by 4.5 percent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to the same period of the previous year.

It also grew 0.7 percent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter.

The data collected from the Eurostat indicated that among the member states for which data were available, the highest annual increases in house prices in the fourth quarter of 2017 were seen in Ireland (11.8 percent), Portugal (10.5 percent) and Slovenia (10.0 percent), while prices dropped in Italy (0.3 percent).

"Compared with the previous quarter, the highest increases were recorded in Slovenia (3.7 percent), Croatia (3.2 percent) and Cyprus (2.7 percent), while decreases were observed in Sweden (2.8 percent), Denmark (1.7 percent), Belgium (0.4 percent) and Finland (0.3 percent)," the report posted.