The economy went into reverse in the corona year 2020, but not so the real estate prices. In the midst of the biggest economic crisis since the Second World War, housing has continued to rise massively, as the analysis of asking prices on the ImmoScout24 real estate platform shows. House prices rose by an average of 11.6 percent – demand in this segment by 49 percent. Apartments went up by an average of 7.4 percent and rents went up by 5 percent.
There has been a noticeable increase in the search for houses with gardens in the southern and eastern federal states – but especially in the extended suburbs around Vienna and Graz. Overall, the demand for houses in Carinthia (plus 76 percent), Lower Austria (plus 63 percent), Styria (plus 59 percent) and Burgenland (plus 55 percent).
“Although our current trend study shows that Austrians are basically satisfied with their living situation, the dream of owning their own house has become firmly entrenched for many in 2020,” emphasized ImmoScout24's Austria managing director, Markus Dejmek. It is particularly noticeable that the demand for houses, especially in federal states, which are also interesting as holiday resorts or second homes, has increased enormously.
The high demand for real estate also fueled prices. On average across Austria, houses were offered for around 3,360 euros per square meter, condominiums for around 4,830 euros.
While apartments rose particularly strongly in Burgenland (plus 17.1 percent), in Styria (plus 12.4 percent), in Lower Austria (plus 10.2 percent) and in Vorarlberg (plus 10 percent), house prices rose above all in the western federal states – an average of 18.2 percent in Tyrol, 13.1 percent in Salzburg and 12.1 percent in Vorarlberg, as the current ImmoScout24 data analysis also shows.
In the federal capital, the price of apartments rose by an average of 7.4 percent to 5,340 euros per square meter and houses by 4.9 percent to around 4,990 euros. But prices for houses also rose around Vienna: in Lower Austria by as much as 10.9 percent and in Burgenland by 8 percent.
“The expensive west with Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Salzburg again increased prices significantly in 2020. But the bacon belt around Vienna also recorded considerable price increases in 2020”, says Dejmek.
Last year, rental apartments were charged on a nationwide average of 14 euros per square meter (plus 5 percent). For example, rents rose sharply in Vienna (plus 4.8 percent to an average of 15.80 euros per square meter) and in the west – in Tyrol there was an increase of 5.1 percent to 16 euros per square meter and in Vorarlberg by 4, 1 percent to 15 euros per square meter.
Year-on-year rents fell only in Burgenland, by 2.4 percent to 9.30 euros per square meter. Rental apartments are the cheapest in Austria there; they are most expensive in Tyrol with square meter prices of 16 euros (plus 5.1 percent) and in Vienna. In third place followed with ex aequo 15 euros Vorarlberg (plus 4.1 percent) and Salzburg (plus 3.4 percent). Rents in Lower Austria remained relatively stable (plus 0.5 percent to 11.20 euros).
According to the information provided by the online platform, the data basis for the present price analysis comprises over 354,394 data points from the offer prices published on ImmoScout24.at for the apartments advertised and compares data from the entire year 2020 with those from 2019.
The real estate portal has been online with an Austrian marketplace since January 2012 (ImmoScout24.at). Together with Immobilien.net, immodirekt.at and immosuchmaschine.at, the network records around 3.5 million visits every month, according to its own information. Users can choose from around 133,000 real estate offers. The company employs around 40 people in Vienna and is part of the German online real estate platform ImmoScout24.
