House prices in the European Union recorded a decline of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the preceding three months, when they had fallen by 1.4%, thus achieving two consecutive quarters of decline for the first time since the beginning of 2013, according to data published by Eurostat.
In the case of the euro area, house prices recorded an average decline of 0.9% between January and March, compared with a fall of 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022, thus recording consecutive quarterly declines for the first time since the first quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter of 2014.
Among the EU-27, prices decreased every quarter in 11 Member States. The most significant increases were recorded in Denmark (+2.5%), Hungary (+2.2%), Croatia and Cyprus (both +2%). The most considerable falls were recorded in Luxembourg (-4.1%), Germany (-3.1%) and Finland (-1.8%).
The pressure on house prices coincides with the tightening of credit conditions resulting in the interest rate hike cycle by the European Central Bank (ECB), which has raised the price to 4%, having implemented eight consecutive rate hikes since July 2022.
Compared with the first quarter of last year, house prices in the euro area rose by 0.4%, following the 3% year-on-year increase in the fourth quarter of 2022, while among the EU-27, house prices rose by 0.8%, compared with a 3.6% year-on-year increase in the last quarter of last year.
The highest annual house price increases were recorded in Croatia (+14%), Lithuania (+13.1%) and Bulgaria (+9.5%), while prices fell in Sweden (-6.9%), Germany (-6.8%), Denmark (-6.2%), Finland (-5.1%), Luxembourg (-1.5%) and the Netherlands (-0.1%).
In the case of Spain, house prices in the first quarter of 2023 rose by 0.7% compared to the previous three months, when they fell by 0.8%, while compared to the same period in 2022, housing prices rose by 3.5%.
