The HousingAnywhere International Rent Index report for Q1 2022 shows that prices on the European residential rental market keep rising steeply, even surpassing the trend of the previous quarter.

The average year-on-year increase was 14.5% (12% for private rooms, 16.2% for studios, and 15.2% for apartments), exceeding the pre-pandemic rental prices in all segments. With the recent announcement by Eurostat that the annual inflation rate in Europe was 7.5% in March, the stress level is expected to intensify even further as the rental market enters its traditional peak season in the next two quarters. 

“Since most travel restrictions have been lifted, demand for rental properties has been rising fast, resulting in an overstrained rental market,” said Djordy Seelmann, CEO at HousingAnywhere.

He added: “As cities struggle to develop and implement long-term strategies that combat the imbalance of supply and demand, the lack of available, affordable and accessible rentals is likely to continue. Moreover, the war in Ukraine is not only impacting inflation by pushing the fuel and gas prices up. It also adds to the challenges in the housing market as we see an increasing inflow of people displaced by the war to other European countries.”