Cyprus Housing Costs Continue To Rise As Rents And Property Prices Climb
Cyprus entered 2026 with little sign of relief in its housing market, as both rents and house prices continued to increase during the opening months of the year, reinforcing the affordability pressures facing households.
Rental Costs Keep Moving Higher
New Eurostat data show that rental prices continued their steady upward trend in May. The harmonised index of consumer prices for actual rental payments edged up to 103.95 points from 103.91 in April, extending a pattern of monthly increases that has been in place since the beginning of the year.
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Although the monthly gains have been modest, they point to persistent upward pressure in a rental market where supply remains tight and affordability continues to deteriorate.
House Prices Extend Their Upward Trend
Property prices also continued to rise, although at a more moderate pace than in several other European Union countries.
House prices in Cyprus increased 1.6% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous three months, following a flat fourth quarter of 2025. On an annual basis, prices were 3.4% higher than a year earlier. While that represented a slowdown from the 6.0% annual increase recorded in late 2025, it nevertheless confirmed that the market continues to trend upward.
The longer-term picture highlights the scale of that appreciation. Using 2015 as the base year, Cyprus’ house price index reached 150.89 in 2025, up from 144.46 in 2024 and 134.60 in 2023. The figures illustrate how residential property values have risen steadily over the past decade despite periods of slower growth.
Cyprus Lags The Fastest-Growing EU Markets
Although prices continue to rise locally, Cyprus remains below the pace seen in many other European markets.
Across the EU, house prices increased 5.1% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, while rents rose 3.0%. Compared with the previous quarter, house prices advanced 1.2% and rents 0.7%. In the euro area, house prices climbed 4.7% from a year earlier and 1.0% from the previous quarter.
Eurostat said house prices rose faster than rents in 19 member states when comparing the first quarter of 2026 with the annual average for 2025. Portugal recorded the strongest increase at 10.3%, followed by Bulgaria at 9.4% and Slovakia at 9.1%, while France and Finland were the only countries to register declines.
Rental markets showed a similar pattern of broad-based growth. Croatia posted the largest increase at 21.9%, ahead of Bulgaria (6.4%) and Greece (5.0%). Only Slovenia and Finland did not record rental growth over the period.
Looking at annual house price growth in the first quarter of 2026, Portugal again led the bloc with a 17.8% increase, followed by Bulgaria (14.8%) and Slovakia (14.4%). Finland was the only EU member state to record an annual decline.
For Cyprus, the figures point to a market that continues to move in one direction. While house price growth has moderated compared with last year, both property values and rental costs remain on an upward trajectory, offering little relief for households facing an increasingly expensive housing market.
