Cyprus’s housing price-to-income ratio remained below its long-term average in 2025, while property prices across the European Union continued to rise faster than household incomes over the past decade. According to Eurostat, Cyprus recorded an index of 91.61, virtually unchanged from 91.63 in 2024 and 92.03 in 2023.
An index of 100 represents the long-term average since 2000, placing Cyprus’s 2025 reading 8.39% below that benchmark. However, the figure should not be interpreted as a direct measure of housing affordability. It tracks changes in property prices relative to incomes over time, rather than the actual cost of purchasing a home.
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Cyprus Ratio Has Remained Relatively Stable
The index has fluctuated over the past decade, standing at 99.71 in 2016 and 99.36 in 2017, close to its historical average. It then declined to 93.13 in 2018 and 92.30 in 2019, before rising to 95.38 in 2020.
In 2021, the ratio fell to 89.59, followed by a gradual recovery to 90.10 in 2022 and 92.03 in 2023. It has remained broadly stable since then, suggesting relatively little change in the relationship between housing prices and incomes in recent years.
Nevertheless, this trend alone does not capture the full financial burden on prospective buyers.
EU Housing Price-To-Income Ratio Increased 6.8% In A Decade
Across the EU, the price-to-income ratio rose by 6.8% between 2015 and 2025, indicating that housing prices increased faster than household incomes over the period. The trend differed considerably across member states, with the ratio increasing in 17 countries and declining in 10.
Portugal recorded the largest increase, at 60.8%, followed by the Netherlands at 34.3%, Hungary at 26.5%, Czechia at 25.8% and Spain at 24.5%.
At the other end of the scale, Romania registered the largest decline, at 42.8%. Finland followed with a decrease of 25.2%, while Bulgaria recorded a fall of 16.2%.
These figures reflect changes in housing prices relative to incomes in each country, rather than differences in the absolute cost of buying a property.
European Market Recorded Two Major Peaks
Eurostat’s standardised EU index highlights two periods when the housing price-to-income ratio rose significantly above its long-term average. In 2007, it stood 7.9% above the benchmark, while in 2022 it was 7.4% higher.
The index was 6.4% below its long-term average in 2014. Following the 2022 peak, it declined in 2023 and 2024 before reaching a level just 0.03% above the benchmark in 2025.
Why The Index Does Not Tell The Full Affordability Story
Eurostat uses the price-to-income ratio as one indicator of housing-market conditions and a tool for identifying potential macroeconomic imbalances. The index increases when property prices rise faster than incomes and declines when price growth lags behind income growth.
However, the ability to afford a home depends on several additional factors, including the number of years of income required to purchase a property, mortgage interest rates and housing costs as a share of disposable income.
For Cyprus, therefore, a below-average index does not necessarily mean that buying a home has become easier for local households. It provides an indication of how property prices have evolved relative to incomes, but does not measure the overall cost or accessibility of housing.
