And all indications are that this pressure on housing will continue, as "persistent supply constraints" are expected until 2027.

Regarding the rise in house prices in the last year, Brussels acknowledges that "several countries, namely Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Spain, Croatia, Hungary and Portugal, maintained double-digit annual growth rates, driven by strong demand and supply constraints," according to Diário de Notícias. Within this range of southern and eastern European countries, Portugal, Spain and Croatia were identified as the most serious cases.

“Pressures on affordability remain high, as house prices have risen faster than household incomes in many countries, especially in urban centres,” warns the European Commission.

This sharp increase in house prices is due, as Brussels admits, to persistent supply constraints in several countries, at a time when “building permits and completed housing remain at historically low levels.”

And the situation is not expected to change in the medium term. “Although a gradual recovery in housing investment is expected, the adjustment will be slow, keeping markets constrained in the short term,” so that “persistent supply constraints should keep price pressures high until 2026-2027,” Brussels says, quoted by the same newspaper.