Which markets are growing, which are slowing?

Home sales in Ireland plummeted in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from Eurostat.

It was one of four EU countries that saw a fall in year-on-year house sales while overall EU home sales posted healthy growth of 10%.

The number of homes, including new builds, sold in Ireland fell by 10%, while sales also dropped in Malta by 6.2%, in Hungary by 5.7%, and in Finland by 5.6%.

Kate Everett-Allen, head of European Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: “Ireland’s 10% drop continues to reflect stretched affordability and persistent low levels of supply.”

There was a mixed picture among the EU countries that recorded increased sales, with annual growth ranging from 2.2% in Denmark to 86.6% in Luxembourg, which has a very small housing market that can see sales rates significantly affected by small changes.

The housing market was also buoyant in Slovenia and Lithuania, up by 34.8% and 24.4% respectively, while Belgium, Portugal, and the Netherlands also saw significant increases.

Everett-Allen said the broad range in the figures reflected varying responses to monetary easing across the region.

“While the European Central Bank (ECB) has implemented eight rate cuts during the current cycle, the effects are unfolding unevenly due to differences in financing conditions, supply levels, and underlying demand,” she said.

Michael Polzler, CEO at real estate network RE/MAX Europe, stressed that country-specific factors continue to drive differences in performance with government initiatives to support first-time buyers and stimulate activity at the more affordable end of the market in some member states.

“In Portugal, for example, government support has sparked both opportunity and challenge,” he said.

Polzer added: “The Public Guarantee scheme helped many under-35s access mortgages for the first time, but at the same time, sellers saw an opportunity to increase prices.”

In France, home sales rose by 10.4% whereas Spain recorded a smaller increase of 2.5%. Data was not available for Germany and Italy.

According to Everett-Allen, Spain’s moderate 2.5% growth in housing transactions suggests a normalisation following the post-pandemic surge, with limited supply, particularly in coastal and island regions, constraining transaction volumes. France’s 10.4% increase indicates a gradual recovery after a subdued 2023–24, though regional variations persist, and the prospect of upcoming tax changes may influence the market’s trajectory.

In non-EU Norway, home sales rose by 10% over this period. Poland’s most recent data, from the last quarter of 2024, shows an annual decline of 17.9%.

Michael Polzler noted that the Polish government’s 2% fixed-rate mortgage scheme, which had fuelled strong demand, has now ended due to budget constraints.

“With no replacement yet announced, and interest rates still relatively high, many buyers are holding back to see how the market develops into 2026,” he said.

The housing market varies widely across the EU, as populations differ significantly from one country to another. In the second quarter of 2025, France recorded nearly a quarter of a million home sales (244,750).

The Netherlands ranks second among the 12 EU countries and Norway, where Eurostat data are available. However, the number of homes sold in the Netherlands — 63,709 — remains considerably lower than in France.

Portugal, Belgium, Norway, and Hungary also recorded between 32,000 and 38,000 home sales during this quarter.

Although Germany and the UK are not included in Eurostat’s figures, Polzer noted that fixed mortgage rates have eased in Britain since late 2024, improving affordability and allowing buyers to borrow more. Together with April’s Stamp Duty changes, this has helped lift transaction volumes.

Germany, meanwhile, continues to face pressure in its property market due to persistently low numbers of residential building permits, a trend that undermines longer-term confidence.

“This effect is particularly visible in cities where housing is already scarce, with restricted supply pushing prices even higher,” Polzer said.