Germany Portugal And Denmark The Eus Most Affordable Housing Markets

The third edition of the prestigious Deloitte Property Index Report recently revealed that Germany, Portugal and Denmark have been identified as the most affordable European residential property markets. The report also identified Israel, Russia, the UK and France as the least affordable markets. According to the report, although the housing prices in the urban areas seem to be increasing, they are following the downward trend in rural areas.

The report takes several factors that have an influence on the development of residential markets into account. Further, the residential property prices have also been compared across selected countries and cities. An international team of Deloitte professionals from the development, mortgage and real estate markets have been instrumental in preparing this comprehensive and informative report.

Property index reveals Europe's most favorable markets

2013 has been a good year for the residential market in the European Union. Uniformly, all the countries delight in record low interest rates. However, the expenses involved in buying a property along with the housing costs, seems to differ drastically across countries. Taking all the fluctuating differences into account, the latest Property Index has found that Denmark, Germany and Portugal are the most favorable markets for residential investors.

To measure the affordability of housing in these cities and countries, the Deloitte Property Index compared both, the transaction prices of the property and the gross monthly salaries. As per the Property Index, the criterion is the number of the annual gross salaries (in years) required to buy a standard-sized house. Denmark was the most affordable with the least number of gross annual salaries at 2.1 years, while Israel was declared as the least affordable with 12.1 years.

Germany and Portugal follow Denmark as the most affordable markets, at the less than 3.6 years mark. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Austria, fall in the range of 3.6 years to 5.6 years and these values are considered standard and relatively affordable rates to own a house. The Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary and Poland fall in the range of 7.2 years upto 7.4 years, making these countries a little less affordable for investors. The highest number of gross annual salaries is needed in France with 7.9 years, the UK with 8.5 years, Russia with 10.4 years and Israel with the highest at 12.1 years.

Investors turn toward Germany, Portugal and Denmark

Residential investors are now turning towards Germany, Portugal and Denmark to invest. According to the report, post recovery of the economy, Germany seems to be the most stable residential market of the three, while Denmark, the least.

The residential market in Denmark has improved compared to 2012 when it hit rock bottom. The slight upturn is a result of the price appreciation in the urban cities of Denmark while the prices in rural areas of Denmark are stagnant or declining. Residential investors today prefer low-risk opportunities and so, investment in German property seems most attractive, given its stability. In the case of Portugal, The report claims that the banks still play a major role in the real estate market, with numerous properties in the balance sheet waiting to be sold.

http://www.property-abroad.com/germany/news-story/germany-portugal-and-denmark-the-eus-most-affordable-housing-markets-19317945/