For many households in Cyprus, rent has quietly become a costly expense. Between 2015 and 2024, rents rose by nearly 25% – well above the EU average of around 17% – even as home-purchase prices remained comparatively stable. The data come from Eurostat, which has released the 2025 edition of its interactive publication Housing in Europe, offering statistical insights into housing trends across the continent.
The report covers housing types, ownership, size, quality, environmental impact and costs, while also exploring developments in the construction sector.
Construction
Construction costs tell a similar story. Across the EU, the cost of building new residential buildings has risen 22.7% since the base year 2021. In Cyprus, costs have climbed slightly above 15% over the same period, underscoring the interconnected forces shaping the housing market. Notably, Cyprus invested the equivalent of 8% of GDP in housing in 2024 – more than any other EU country. This is linked to the rapidly growing need for supply, as by 2023, Cyprus’ population had ballooned by almost 15% over a decade.
Quality of housing
Cypriots live in comparatively spacious homes. The average number of rooms per person in the EU is 1.7; in Cyprus, it is 2, near the top of the scale. Most Cypriots live in houses (69.4%) rather than flats (30.6%), though urban areas see more flats (33.2%) and rural areas are overwhelmingly houses (93.4%). Yet this abundance of space comes with a quirk: 70% of homes are underoccupied, largely because individuals and couples remain in their homes after their kids have moved out.
Space, though, does not always translate into comfort. Nearly one in seven households in Cyprus cannot keep their homes adequately warm, almost twice the EU average. This is closely tied to the island’s high electricity prices. A study by the University of Cyprus’ Economics Research Centre found that a 1% rise in oil prices triggers a 3.5% increase in energy inflation. With around 80% of electricity generated from oil, global price swings quickly spill over into household bills. While electricity prices fell by 9.5% in the first half of 2025 compared with a year earlier, in real terms, Cypriots still pay some of the highest electricity costs in the EU.
Affordability
Even so, housing affordability in Cyprus remains less severe than in the EU overall. The share of households spending more than 40% of their disposable income on housing is among the lowest in Europe. Only 2.6% of urban and 1% of rural households in Cyprus face this extreme strain. Across the EU, the burden is much heavier: one in ten city households and 6% of rural households. Even among those at risk of poverty, Cypriot households fare comparatively well, as fewer than one in five low-income households struggle to meet housing costs; across the EU, the figure rises to one in three.
The overall picture is nuanced: rising rents and construction costs contrast with generally stable affordability, spacious homes, and persistently high energy costs. It’s a tidy illustration of the paradox defining Cyprus’s housing story today.
