Why statistical trends fail to capture Cyprus housing crunch
Cyprus’ house price-to-income ratio remained below its long-term average in 2025, according to Eurostat figures published on Monday.
This suggests that the relationship between property prices and household incomes has not returned to the levels seen during earlier periods of pressure, despite continued concerns about the cost of buying a home.
The standardised house price-to-income ratio for Cyprus stood at 91.61 in 2025, virtually unchanged from the 91.63 recorded in 2024 and below the benchmark of 100, which represents the indicator’s long-term average since 2000.
The figure places Cyprus among the EU countries where the ratio remains below its historical average, although this does not necessarily mean that homes are affordable for ordinary households or that property prices are low compared with current salaries.
Eurostat’s indicator measures how house prices have moved relative to household income over time. A reading below 100 means the relationship is below its long-term average, rather than showing how many years of income a household would need to buy a property.
Cyprus’ reading has remained below 100 throughout the period covered by the available figures, falling from 95.38 in 2020 to 89.59 in 2021, before recovering to 90.10 in 2022 and 92.03 in 2023.
It then edged down to 91.63 in 2024 and remained almost unchanged in 2025, at 91.61.
The figures suggest that the ratio has been relatively stable over the past three years, but they should be considered alongside other measures of housing affordability, particularly the actual prices being asked for properties and the borrowing capacity of households.
This distinction is important given the difficulties faced by prospective buyers in Cyprus.
A recent study by real estate analytics firm Ask Wire found that only 1.8 per cent of two- and three-bedroom apartments advertised for sale in Limassol were priced within the estimated €256,000 budget of a hypothetical household earning the median salary.
The research examined 25,550 active property listings across the government-controlled areas of Cyprus, including 17,532 two- and three-bedroom homes.
It modelled a household consisting of two working adults and two dependent children, with both adults earning the estimated median salary.
Based on combined gross monthly income of approximately €4,503 and net income of €3,988, the household was assumed to allocate 25 per cent of its net income to mortgage repayments.
With an assumed mortgage interest rate of 3.24 per cent over 25 years, this translated into a monthly instalment of around €997 and a maximum property budget of €255,995.
The purchase would also require an initial contribution of €51,199, equivalent to a 20 per cent deposit, before other property-related expenses.
Ask Wire’s findings underline why a relatively favourable historical price-to-income indicator should not be interpreted as evidence that housing is within reach for most households.
The Eurostat figures also provide a broader European comparison. Across the EU, the house price-to-income ratio in 2025 was 6.8 per cent higher than in 2015, indicating that house prices had increased faster than household income over the decade.
The ratio rose in 17 EU member states, while it declined in the remaining 10.
Portugal recorded the largest increase, at 60.8 per cent, followed by the Netherlands at 34.3 per cent, Hungary at 26.5 per cent, the Czech Republic at 25.8 per cent and Spain at 24.5 per cent.
Romania recorded the steepest decline, with its ratio falling by 42.8 per cent, followed by Finland at 25.2 per cent and Bulgaria at 16.2 per cent.
These changes measure how prices have developed relative to income over time and do not rank countries according to the absolute cost of housing compared with earnings.
At EU level, the standardized indicator shows that the ratio reached two clear peaks, standing 7.9 per cent above its long-term average in 2007, before the global financial crisis, and 7.4 per cent above it in 2022.
It subsequently fell to 6.4 per cent below its long-term average in 2014, before rising again.
Following the 2022 peak, the EU ratio declined in 2023 and 2024, before returning marginally above its long-term average in 2025, at 100.03.
The euro area followed a similar pattern, with its standardised ratio standing at 99.02 in 2025, compared with 96.80 in 2024.
Among individual countries, Portugal had the highest 2025 reading, at 136.97, followed by Austria at 115.60 and Luxembourg at 113.11.
Romania, meanwhile, had the lowest reading, at 47.01, followed by Bulgaria at 64.04 and Finland at 76.74.
Eurostat uses the standardised ratio as an additional indicator in the EU’s Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure, which helps identify potential imbalances building up in housing markets over time.
The statistical agency stressed that the indicator captures only one aspect of affordability.
Other measures include the number of years of income required to buy a home, the cost of mortgage financing and the proportion of disposable household income spent on ongoing housing expenses.
For Cyprus, the combination of a ratio below its historical average and the limited availability of apartments within the budget of an average-income household illustrates the difference between long-term statistical trends and the practical challenges facing people trying to enter the property market.