Mapped: Europe’s Homeownership Divide

Mapped: Europe’s Homeownership Divide

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Homeownership in Europe shows a stark contrast: in some countries, more than 9 in 10 households own their homes, while in others, fewer than half do.

That gap is not driven by income alone. In fact, some of Europe’s richest economies, like Germany and Switzerland, have the lowest ownership rates, where renting is far more common.

This map uses the latest available data from Eurostat and the UK Parliament to show how homeownership varies across Europe by share of households.

Why this matters: Homeownership is closely tied to wealth building, financial security, and long-term stability. Countries with lower ownership rates often have more developed rental markets, while higher rates can reflect historical policies rather than current affordability.

Europe’s Highest Homeownership Rates

The highest homeownership rates on the Old Continent are found in the eastern half of the European Union, led by Romania (93.2%), Slovakia (93.1%), and Croatia (91.4%).

On average, countries in Central and Eastern Europe have homeownership rates roughly 30% higher than their peers in Western Europe.

The following data table lists European countries alongside their household homeownership rate.

Rank	Country	Homeownership Rate by share of households (%)
1	Romania	93.2
2	Slovakia	93.1
3	Croatia	91.4
4	Hungary	89.8
5	Lithuania	87.4
6	Poland	87.2
7	Bulgaria	86.1
8	Latvia	82.2
9	Norway	80.0
10	Estonia	79.7
11	Italy	77.1
12	Czechia	75.1
13	Slovenia	74.2
14	Spain	73.6
15	Portugal	71.2
16	Belgium	70.9
17	Greece	69.4
18	Ireland	69.3
19	Cyprus	69.2
20	Netherlands	68.8
21	Malta	68.1
22	Finland	66.9
23	Sweden	64.6
24	Luxembourg	63.5
25	UK	61.7
26	France	61.2
27	Denmark	60.9
28	Austria	54.5
29	Germany	47.2
30	Switzerland	42.0
—	EU	68.4

A major driver of Eastern Europe’s high ownership rates is the mass privatization of housing in the 1990s. As governments sold off state-owned apartments, often at steep discounts, millions of residents became homeowners, creating a structural gap with Western Europe that persists today.

Homeownership in Western Europe

In contrast, Western Europe tends to have lower homeownership rates on average, including roughly 61.5% of households in France and the United Kingdom and approximately 68% across the Benelux countries.

In Western Europe, higher home prices and stricter lending standards have made ownership less accessible, especially for younger generations. At the same time, strong tenant protections and stable rental markets make long-term renting a more common and viable alternative.

Meanwhile, dynamic labor markets in major cities have also contributed to the growth of large rental markets, where property owners rent to working professionals and young families.

The Germanic Outliers

Low homeownership rates are most pronounced in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), where high incomes and strong economies coexist with some of the lowest ownership levels in Europe.

In Switzerland, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, only 42% of households own the home in which they live. Germany similarly sees less than half of households classified as owner-occupiers (47.2%), while neighboring Austria is only slightly higher at 54.5%.

These countries’ low rates relative to the rest of Europe can be partly explained by cultural factors, such as young adults leaving home earlier than in Southern Europe. In addition, the post-socialist transition in places like East Germany followed a different path, with state-owned housing often sold to corporations rather than residents during the 1990s.

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• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-europes-homeownership-divide/