Amsterdam is set to maintain its position as Europe's most expensive city for apartment rentals in 2025, with median costs reaching 2,500 euros per month for a furnished one-bedroom unit. This figure is double the rent in Prague and significantly higher than other major European capitals like Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. The stark difference in rental costs across European cities reflects broader economic trends, housing policies, and the complex interplay between supply and demand in urban centers. Factors driving rental costs across Europe The disparity in rental prices across European cities can be attributed to various factors. In countries like Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, a higher proportion of the population lives in rental housing. This trend contributes to increased demand and potentially higher living costs in these nations. Conversely, many Eastern and Southern European countries have homeownership rates exceeding 90 percent, which may help keep rental prices lower in those regions. Housing affordability and market dynamics The relationship between housing prices and rental rates varies significantly across Europe. As of 2024, countries like Turkey, Iceland, Portugal, and Hungary had the highest house price to rent ratio indices. This indicates a widening gap between property values and rental costs since 2015. The affordability of homeownership versus renting differs greatly among European nations, with some countries experiencing rapid increases in property values that outpace rental growth. These market dynamics influence rental costs and contribute to the diverse rental landscape observed across European cities.

Rents in Germany continued to increase in all seven major cities in 2024. The average rent per square meter in Munich was approximately **** euros — the highest in the country. Conversely, Düsseldorf had the most affordable rent, at approximately **** euros per square meter. But how does renting compare to buying? According to the house price to rent ratio, house prices in Germany have risen faster than rents, making renting more affordable than buying. Affordability of housing in Germany In 2023, Germany was among the European countries with a relatively high house price to income ratio in Europe. The indicator compares the affordability of housing across OECD countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 chosen as a base year. Between 2012 and 2022, property prices in the country rose much faster than income, with the house price to income index peaking at *** index points at the beginning of 2022. Slower house price growth in the following years has led to the index declining, as incomes catch up. Nevertheless, homebuyers in 2024 faced significantly higher mortgage interest rates, contributing to a higher final cost. How much does buying a property in Germany cost? Just as with renting, Munich was the most expensive city for newly built apartments. In 2024, the cost per square meter in Munich was almost ***** euros pricier than in the runner-up city, Frankfurt. Detached and semi-detached houses are usually more expensive. The price gap between Munich and the second most expensive city, Stuttgart, was nearly ***** euros per square meter.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR List Rents (EC9)

FULL MEASURE NAME List Rents

LAST UPDATED October 2016

DESCRIPTION List rent refers to the advertised rents for available rental housing and serves as a measure of housing costs for new households moving into a neighborhood, city, county or region.

DATA SOURCE real Answers (1994 – 2015) no link

Zillow Metro Median Listing Price All Homes (2010-2016) http://www.zillow.com/research/data/

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) List rents data reflects median rent prices advertised for available apartments rather than median rent payments; more information is available in the indicator definition above. Regional and local geographies rely on data collected by real Answers, a research organization and database publisher specializing in the multifamily housing market. real Answers focuses on collecting longitudinal data for individual rental properties through quarterly surveys. For the Bay Area, their database is comprised of properties with 40 to 3,000+ housing units. Median list prices most likely have an upward bias due to the exclusion of smaller properties. The bias may be most extreme in geographies where large rental properties represent a small portion of the overall rental market. A map of the individual properties surveyed is included in the Local Focus section.

Individual properties surveyed provided lower- and upper-bound ranges for the various types of housing available (studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, etc.). Median lower- and upper-bound prices are determined across all housing types for the regional and county geographies. The median list price represented in Vital Signs is the average of the median lower- and upper-bound prices for the region and counties. Median upper-bound prices are determined across all housing types for the city geographies. The median list price represented in Vital Signs is the median upper-bound price for cities. For simplicity, only the mean list rent is displayed for the individual properties. The metro areas geography rely upon Zillow data, which is the median price for rentals listed through www.zillow.com during the month. Like the real Answers data, Zillow's median list prices most likely have an upward bias since small properties are underrepresented in Zillow's listings. The metro area data for the Bay Area cannot be compared to the regional Bay Area data. Due to afore mentioned data limitations, this data is suitable for analyzing the change in list rents over time but not necessarily comparisons of absolute list rents. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries.

Due to the limited number of rental properties surveyed, city-level data is unavailable for Atherton, Belvedere, Brisbane, Calistoga, Clayton, Cloverdale, Cotati, Fairfax, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, Hillsborough, Los Altos Hills, Monte Sereno, Moranga, Oakley, Orinda, Portola Valley, Rio Vista, Ross, San Anselmo, San Carlos, Saratoga, Sebastopol, Windsor, Woodside, and Yountville.

Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rents have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself. Percent change in inflation-adjusted median is calculated with respect to the median price from the fourth quarter or December of the base year.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average from Jan 1981 to May 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Displacement risk indicator classifying census tracts according to apartment rent prices in census tracts. We classify apartment rent along two dimensions:The median rents within the census tract for the specified year, balancing between nominal rental price and rental price per square foot.The change in median rent price (again balanced between nominal rent price and price per square foot) from the previous year.Note: Median rent calculations include market-rate and mixed-income multifamily apartment properties with 5 or more rental units in Seattle, excluding special types like student, senior, corporate or military housing.Source: Data from CoStar Group, www.costar.com, prepared by City of Seattle, Office of Planning and Community Development

In 2024, New York, NY, was the most expensive rental market for one-bedroom apartments in the United States. The median monthly rental rate of an apartment in New York was ***** U.S. dollars, while in San Francisco, CA which ranked second highest, renters paid on average ***** U.S. dollars.

In 2023, the most expensive residential rental market in Europe was London (inner) with rental costs of approximately **** euros per square meter. Dublin and Paris followed with rental costs of **** and **** euros per square meter. Rents increased across most markets - a trend that could also be observed in the housing market. How much does an apartment cost in different European cities? Renting a furnished studio apartment in some of the leading cities in Europe can cost anywhere between *** euros monthly (Budapest) and ***** euros (Amsterdam) per month. For afurnished one-bedroom apartment in Paris, France, one may be expected to pay on average ***** euros monthly. Which countries have the most affordable housing? The house price to rent ratio is an indicator of the affordability of owning housing over renting across European countries and is calculated as the nominal house prices divided by a rent price index. The higher the ratio, the more the gap between house prices and rental rates has widened since 2015 when the index base was 100. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, Finland, Italy, and Belgium had the lowest house price to rent ratio, meaning that buying a house was most affordable there compared to renting.

Price to Rent Ratio in the United States increased to 134.20 in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 133.60 in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Price to Rent Ratio.

Average rent per month in cities by type of dwelling

Source of data: Eurostat

Online data code: prc_colc_rent

Last update: 11/12/2023 22:00

In the first quarter of 2025, Amsterdam was the most expensive city to rent a furnished private room among the 27 European cities surveyed. It was also among the top ranking most expensive cities to rent a furnished one-bedroom flat and studio apartment. One of the main factors driving high rents across European cities is the same as any other consumer-driven business. If demand outweighs supply, prices will inflate. The drive for high paid professionals to be located centrally in prime locations, mixed with the low levels of available space, high land, and construction costs, all keep rental prices increasing.

This is a simple overview of rental costs for a 1 bed apartment in major european cities.

Data comes from Numbeo: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/region_prices_by_city?itemId=27&region=15...

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Rent Payments (EC8)

FULL MEASURE NAME Median rent payment

LAST UPDATED August 2019

DESCRIPTION Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time.

DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census 1970-2000 https://nhgis.org Note: Count 1 and Count 2; Form STF1; Form SF3a

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 2005-2017 http://api.census.gov Note: Form B25058; 1-YR

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index 1970-2017 http://www.bls.gov/data/ Note: All Urban Consumers Data Table (by metro)

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). Larger geographies (metro and county) rely upon ACS 1-year data, while smaller geographies rely upon ACS 5-year rolling average data. 1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed by ABAG staff as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries.

Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (247 items: Carbonear; Newfoundland and Labrador; Corner Brook; Newfoundland and Labrador; Grand Falls-Windsor; Newfoundland and Labrador; Gander; Newfoundland and Labrador ...), Type of structure (4 items: Apartment structures of three units and over; Apartment structures of six units and over; Row and apartment structures of three units and over; Row structures of three units and over ...), Type of unit (4 items: Two bedroom units; Three bedroom units; One bedroom units; Bachelor units ...).

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Shelter in U.S. City Average (CUUR0000SAS2RS) from Dec 1982 to Jun 2025 about shelter, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Primary Residence in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (CBSA) (CUURA101SEHC01) from Dec 1982 to Jun 2025 about CT, primary, NJ, New York, rent, PA, NY, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Owners' Equivalent Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SEHC01) from Jan 1983 to Jun 2025 about primary, rent, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

The median rents within the census tract for the specified year, balancing between nominal rental price and rental price per square foot.The change in median rent price (again balanced between nominal rent price and price per square foot) from the previous year.Note: Median rent calculations include market-rate and mixed-income multifamily apartment properties with 5 or more rental units in Seattle, excluding special types like student, senior, corporate or military housing.

United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average was 434.05400 Index 1982-84=100 in May of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average reached a record high of 434.05400 in May of 2025 and a record low of 84.70000 in January of 1981. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

This dataset provides values for PRICE TO RENT RATIO reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Nagasaki data was reported at 101.700 2020=100 in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 101.700 2020=100 for Feb 2025. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Nagasaki data is updated monthly, averaging 86.100 2020=100 from Jan 1970 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 663 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 102.300 2020=100 in Dec 2022 and a record low of 20.700 2020=100 in Jan 1970. Consumer Price Index: Housing: Rent: Nagasaki data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistical Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.I032: Consumer Price Index: Housing Rent: City: 2020=100.