House prices up 12.88% during the year to Q1 2022

Real house prices in Slovakia rose strongly by 12.88% in Q1 2022 from a year earlier, following y-o-y increases of 18.37% in Q4 2021, 19.52% in Q3, 20.26% in Q2 and 20.6% in Q1. On a quarterly basis, real house prices increased 4.06% during the latest quarter. Slovak house prices have been rising since 2014.

 

Demand remains strong.  

Despite the pandemic, property demand, both from local and from foreign investors, remains fundamentally strong. 

In April 2022, the total outstanding amount of housing loans rose by 12% y-o-y to €39.1 billion (US$41.9 billion) from a year earlier, following annual growth of 11.5% in 2021, 9% in 2020 and 9.7% in 2019, according to the European Central Bank (ECB). Despite this, Slovakia still has one of the lowest mortgage-debt-to-GDP ratios in the EU, at about 38.5% of GDP in 2021, far lower than EU 28’s average ratio of about 50%.

Rents, rental yields; moderate yields at 4.53% 

Bratislava apartment costs are low at around €2,911 per sq. m. 

Slovak Rep: typical city centre apartment buying price, monthly rent (120 sq. m)
	Buying price	Rate per month	Yield
Bratislava	€ 349,320	€ 1,320	4.53%

Recent news: The Slovak Republic’s economy advanced 3% year-on-year in Q1 2022, more than double its 1.4% growth in the previous quarter, thanks to stronger domestic demand and healthy investment activity. On a seasonally-adjusted quarterly basis, the economy grew by 0.4% in Q1 2022, the same pace as the previous quarter.

The Slovak Republic’s economy grew by 3% in 2021 from a year earlier, partly offsetting the 4.4% contraction seen in 2020. But recently, the European Commission downgraded its 2022 growth projection for the country to 2.3% from its earlier forecast of a 5% expansion, amidst the ongoing Ukraine crisis.