site.btaEurostat: Bulgaria Tops EU in Q1 Housing Price Growth

House prices in the first quarter of 2024 were down 0.4% in the euro area and up by 1.3 % in the European Union (EU), recent data that Eurostat made public on Friday shows. The data has Bulgaria leading EU in quarter-to-quarter increase in house prices and second after Poland in terms of year-on-year growth in the first quarter.

Eurostat highlighted a comparison with Q4 of 2023, showing house prices in the euro area were down by 1.2% and up by 0.2% in EU for that period. In Q1 of 2024, house prices in the euro area were down slightly (0.1%), while prices in EU were up 0.4% compared to Q4 of 2023.

Bulgaria experienced the highest quarter-on-quarter increase in house prices in EU, registering a 7.1% increase in Q1 of 2024 compared to Q4 of 2023. Eurostat data confirms this represents the largest jump in the country's property values since Q4 of 2007. Bulgaria is followed by Hungary (+5.1%) and Poland (+4.3%). In contrast, Denmark (-2.5), France (-2.1) and Slovakia (-1.7) saw the highest rate of decline.

House prices in Bulgaria saw a 16% rise in Q1 of 2024 compared to Q1 of 2023, which ranks second in EU after Poland (+18%). Eurostat data confirms this represents the largest increase since Q3 of 2008.