2023-05-31 09:38:44
At least from 2012 to 2022, housing costs rose a little less than disposable household income, Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas told journalists in Vienna on Wednesday. There are also no indications that this will change in the near future.
On average, Austrian households spend around 16 percent of their income on housing. But there is a huge difference between homeowners and renters. While the former spend only ten percent of their income on housing, it is around a quarter for renters. The data shows that owning a home is much cheaper than renting, even when financing costs are taken into account. In the last ten years, homeowners have had only slight increases in housing costs, while tenants with free contracts are now paying almost a third more than in 2012. In absolute figures, it was only 430 euros per month for homeowners in 2022 and 479 euros for apartment owners. Main tenants, on the other hand, have to reckon with 774 euros per month. In addition to rent or credit, housing costs also include operating, energy and maintenance costs as well as waste or water charges. A statistical average main residence in Austria was 102 square meters.
Thomas also dampens hopes that a rental price brake might noticeably lower the inflation rate. The increase in rents contributed only 0.05 percentage points to the inflation rate in 2022, as rents only have a small weight in the shopping basket. While slower increases might be crucial for individual households, they would hardly move the consumer price index. Nevertheless, Statistics Austria assumes that rents with an adjustment clause from 3 percent inflation have up to three rent increases per year, with adjustment clauses at five percent there are a good two adjustments.
According to Thomas, only stronger construction activity can lead to lower rents in the long term – also because the population is increasing and with it the demand for living space.
Rents only rise with a time lag
At the same time, however, it should also be borne in mind that rents only rise with a time lag, since jumps in the index in the contracts only take effect following a certain level of inflation has been reached. Further noticeable adjustments are to be expected as a result of inflation in 2023. Accordingly, more tenants with late payments and more evictions are to be feared in 2023, said Regina Fuchs, Head of the Population Directorate of Statistics Austria, at the joint press conference.
The statistical data makes it very clear that long leases are cheaper for tenants. “The length of the lease is the most important factor influencing the total rent,” says Fuchs. While in Austria rent plus operating costs total 10.5 euros per square meter for contracts that are less than two years old, it is only 5.75 euros for contracts that have been running for more than 30 years. On average, all contracts are 8.7 euros to pay. Contracts with a term of less than five years are also more expensive than average, while longer contracts lead to below-average costs.
In addition to the rental period, it is the segment (municipal housing, cooperative or free rent) and the region that are decisive for the costs of rental apartments – the further west, the more expensive.
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