Austria

As of mid-2025, Austria’s housing market is stabilizing after a 2.1% national price decline in 2024, with prices currently flat and transaction volumes rebounding. Home ownership stands at about 54.5% nationwide, meaning nearly 45.5% of residents rent their homes—a figure much higher than the EU average. In Vienna, the proportion of renters is exceptionally high at around 75%. The national median rent has reached €14.90 per square metre, with Vienna, Tyrol, and Salzburg surpassing €20 per square metre. Median purchase prices show significant regional differences; Tyrol remains the most expensive, with a typical 150m² house costing over €1 million, though comprehensive countrywide figures for apartment prices per square metre are not specified in the available data. Publicly owned and subsidized housing plays a crucial role, especially in Vienna, where around 60% of the population lives in some form of social or public housing. City-owned apartments and cooperative nonprofit housing together account for nearly half of the city’s housing stock. Public housing in Vienna encompasses both city-owned (“Gemeindebau”) and subsidized nonprofit “social housing” provided via partnerships, often with liberal access thresholds—these are not entirely identical but both serve the aim of affordable, regulated rents. Subsidies and strong municipal involvement ensure public housing remains a viable, desirable alternative to the private market, thereby reducing any social stigma and helping maintain affordability.

Austria is facing a pronounced housing crisis characterized by rapidly rising rents, a significant affordability gap, and persistent shortages of new construction, especially in urban centers. Between 2021 and 2023, rents in Austria increased by as much as 25%, putting significant strain on many tenants. This surge in costs was particularly acute in Vienna, where the majority of residents rent their homes and competition for available apartments is intense. Nationwide, the squeeze on rental affordability has resulted in a growing number of people struggling to secure stable housing. The crisis disproportionately impacts low- and middle-income households, younger adults trying to form independent households, and migrants—many of whom encounter barriers to accessing suitable, affordable housing. Even with a well-developed social housing sector, demand continues to outpace supply. Challenges such as the slow pace of new housing construction and stricter legal residency requirements further exacerbate the situation. Population growth, especially in Vienna, coupled with steady but insufficient rates of new apartment completions (about 60,000 units nationally in 2023, with 15,000 in Vienna), means many prospective tenants face long waiting periods or must pay high market rents. Economic uncertainty and higher construction costs have also shifted more people towards the rental market, increasing pressure on existing stock and pushing rents higher in key cities. In summary, Austria’s housing crisis is marked by affordability challenges, supply shortages, and exclusion faced by vulnerable groups, despite the country’s historically strong tradition of social housing.

Austria’s current national government is responding to the affordable and sustainable housing challenge through a major reform package enacted in 2025. Central to these changes are **rent controls:** rent increases for over one million regulated and social housing units are frozen for 2025, with future rises capped at 1% in 2026 and 2% in 2027. For the first time, rent increase limits are also applied to previously unregulated segments such as new builds and single-family homes, capping those increases at half the inflation rate above 3%, with a unified regime set for 2028. The minimum lease term across most contracts has been extended to five years to provide tenants greater stability. On the sustainability front, Vienna’s city government—guided by national targets and the European Green Deal—has embedded a strategy to achieve climate neutrality in the housing sector by 2040. The focus is twofold: large-scale renovation of existing buildings to lower their energy consumption and decarbonize energy sources, and the construction of new affordable housing with strict ecological criteria. Austria is also pursuing the nationally supported “Housing First” approach to end homelessness, which aims to provide at least 25,000 affordable homes and direct support to vulnerable groups, with projects funded in partnership with NGOs, the public sector, and limited-profit housing associations. These actions combine regulatory reform, supply-side initiatives, and sustainability targets to tackle affordability and carbon reduction in the housing sector.

Housing cooperatives in Austria play a significant role in ensuring affordable housing and social stability. They comprise about 9% of the country’s total housing stock, translating to roughly 370,000 units nationwide, with a particularly strong presence in Vienna, where cooperative and nonprofit models together dominate nearly half the residential market. The cooperative sector blends nonprofit principles with municipal and private initiatives, focusing not only on lower-income groups but also providing long-term affordable options for the middle class. Recent years have seen robust demand and constrained supply, driving Austria’s government to reinforce its support for cooperative and social housing. National programs such as “Housing First Austria,” co-financed with NGOs and limited-profit cooperatives, aim to expand affordable and energy-efficient rental supply, especially targeting vulnerable populations. State initiatives provide subsidies, favorable loans, and regulatory privileges to cooperatives. Recent reforms are enhancing rent controls, extending minimum lease durations, and incentivizing sustainable construction and large-scale renovations, reflecting the dual goals of affordability and climate policy. The sector faces challenges from rising land and construction costs, and a sharp decline in new housing completions since 2023, partly due to economic pressures and bureaucratic hurdles. Despite these issues, Austria’s cooperative model remains a cornerstone of national housing policy, serving as a European benchmark for accessible, regulated, and socially inclusive housing.

Several individuals and organizations in Austria are actively working to address the housing crisis by promoting affordable and sustainable housing. **Andreas Köttl**, President of the Vereinigung Österreichischer Projektentwickler (VÖPE), emphasizes the need for streamlined bureaucratic processes and strategic alliances to boost the housing sector. The Austrian **Federal Ministry for Social Affairs** supports initiatives like "Housing First" to combat homelessness, collaborating with NGOs and housing providers. Potential collaboration partners include the **Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)**, which has studied the impact of non-profit housing on market stability, and the **Austrian Federation of Limited-Profit Housing Associations (GBV)**, known for delivering stable housing supply. In the real estate sector, companies involved in affordable housing projects, such as **Baugruppen** (collaborative housing initiatives), are crucial. NGOs like those involved in the "arriving home" project are also key players. In academia, research by the WIFO and other institutions provides valuable insights into sustainable housing models.