Housing cost overburden: Greece tops EU at 26.4%, Cyprus lowest at 2.4%

Across the European Union, 7.7% of the population lived in households spending more than 40% of their disposable income on housing in 2025, according to Eurostat data. This measure, known as the housing cost overburden rate, includes rent or mortgage interest, utilities, and regular charges such as insurance and maintenance. The figure masks stark differences between member states, with Greece recording the highest rate at 26.4% and Cyprus the lowest at 2.4%.

The EU average has been pushed upward by a combination of rising house prices, which increased by 69% on average between 2015 and the second quarter of 2026, and climbing rents and energy costs. In some member states, prices more than doubled over that period. The European Council has stated that “Europe faces a crisis driven by rising house prices and increasing housing costs.”

Wide gaps across the continent

After Greece, Denmark had the second-highest overburden rate at 14.7%, followed by Germany at 11.2% and Sweden at 10.8%. Estonia, Czechia, and Luxembourg also exceeded the EU average, with rates of 8.8%, 8.2%, and 8.1% respectively. Outside the EU, Switzerland recorded 15.3% and Norway 13.5%, while among candidate countries Turkey reached 10%, Montenegro 8.7%, and Serbia 7.9%.

At the other end of the scale, Cyprus’s 2.4% was the lowest among all countries with available data. Croatia and Slovenia both recorded 3.2% and 3.5%, while Slovakia matched Slovenia at 3.5%. The largest EU economies were mostly below the EU average: Spain at 7.2%, France at 6.4%, and Italy at 5.0%. Germany was the notable exception among large economies, ranking fifth overall. Dr Hannah Widmer of ETH Zürich explained to Euronews Business that the main drivers are “rising costs for housing (be it rents or house prices, which are spiking in many cities) in relation to the modest growth in incomes, especially for the lower quantiles of the income distribution.” She also noted that housing tenure structures and welfare systems play a role, with tenants in the private rental market typically facing the highest burden.

Impact on people at risk of poverty

The overburden rate is much higher among those at risk of poverty, defined as having an equivalised disposable income below 60% of the national median. Across the EU, 29.1% of this group spent more than 40% of their income on housing. In Greece, the figure was 82.6%, meaning more than four in five people at risk of poverty lived in overburdened households.

Denmark and Switzerland also had high rates among this group, at 59.8% and 56.1% respectively. Sweden, Norway, and Czechia were above 40%, while Germany was above the EU average at 35.0%. Spain, France, and Italy were below the average, at 28.3%, 25.4%, and 21.7%. The lowest rates were in Cyprus at 7.6%, Albania at 8.2%, Croatia at 14.9%, and Slovakia at 15.4%.

Dr Marietta Haffner of TU Delft said that when housing costs rise faster than income, the share of income spent on housing increases, and eventually the share paying more than 40% increases. She added: “It is likely that the increasing energy costs will be a main driver in the next year of increasing housing costs.” In total, more than 34 million people in the EU lived in overburdened households, with Germany having the highest absolute number at 9.4 million, followed by Turkey at 8.6 million and France at 4.4 million.