Cyprus recorded a notable rise of 27.4% in housing transactions in 2022, the largest percentage increase among the 16 EU countries for which data is available, according to Eurostat.
Interestingly, in 2022, the majority of the EU countries included in the data reported a decrease in housing transactions when compared to 2021. This decline followed a period of growth in most countries during 2021 in comparison to 2020.
Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were the nations that faced the most significant decreases in housing transactions during 2022, with declines of 31.6%, 16.6%, 16.2%, and 15.1%, respectively.
On the other hand, Cyprus led the way with its substantial increase of 27.4%, while Ireland and Spain also experienced notable growth with increases of 7.7% and 6.0% respectively.
The housing market has exhibited volatility since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the market saw a general decline in housing transactions due to lockdown measures, with only four EU countries (Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, and Austria) reporting an increase in sales.
However, 2021 marked a period of resurgence, as housing sales rebounded across the 16 EU countries covered in the data, except for the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
In fact, the market was particularly buoyant in 2021, with 11 out of the 16 countries witnessing annual rates of change above 10%. Spain and Bulgaria led the way with the highest increases, recording growth rates of 39.3% and 39.0% respectively.