Cyprus rental prices continue to rise

Long-term trend shows sustained rise in Cyprus house pricesRental costs in Cyprus continued to increase in the opening months of 2026, while house prices also maintained their upward trajectory, according to data released by Eurostat on Thursday. The latest figures showed that the harmonised index of consumer prices for actual rental payments in Cyprus rose to 103.95 points in May 2026, up from 103.91 in April, 103.37 in March, 102.61 in February, 101.53 in January and 101.08 in December 2025. The data point to a steady month-on-month increase in rental costs throughout the first five months of 2026. Eurostat also reported that house prices in Cyprus continued to rise, although at a more moderate pace than in several other European Union member states. Compared with the previous quarter, house prices in Cyprus increased by 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, following no change in the fourth quarter of 2025, a 3.7 per cent increase in the third quarter of 2025 and a 1.8 per cent decline in the second quarter of 2025. Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, house prices in Cyprus were 3.4 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2026. This followed year-on-year increases of 6.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, 4.2 per cent in the third quarter and 2.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2025. Annual data also showed that Cyprus’ house price index continued its long-term upward trend. Using 2015 as the base year, the house price index for Cyprus reached 150.89 in 2025, up from 144.46 in 2024 and 134.60 in 2023. The index stood at 123.22 in 2022 and 115.70 in 2021, after slipping slightly to 117.49 in 2020 from 111.70 in 2019. Earlier figures showed the index at 103.08 in 2018, 104.48 in 2017, 99.82 in 2016 and 100.00 in the base year of 2015. Before that, the index measured 101.47 in 2014 and 103.29 in 2013, Eurostat reported. Across the EU, house prices increased by 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, while rents rose by 3.0 per cent over the same period. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, house prices across the EU increased by 1.2 per cent, while rents rose by 0.7 per cent. Between 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, house prices across the bloc increased by 2.9 per cent, while rents rose by 1.8 per cent. In the euro area, house prices increased by 4.7 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, house prices in the euro area rose by 1.0 per cent. Eurostat said that, when comparing the first quarter of 2026 with the annual average for 2025, house prices rose faster than rents in 19 EU countries for which data were available. The largest increases in house prices over that period were recorded in Portugal, at 10.3 per cent, followed by Bulgaria with 9.4 per cent and Slovakia with 9.1 per cent. France and Finland were the only countries where house prices declined over that comparison period, falling by 0.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. Over the same period, rents increased in every EU country except Slovenia and Finland. Rents fell by 0.9 per cent in Slovenia, while they were unchanged in Finland. The largest increase in rents was recorded in Croatia, where they rose by 21.9 per cent, followed by Bulgaria at 6.4 per cent and Greece at 5.0 per cent. Looking specifically at the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, 25 EU member states recorded annual increases in house prices, while only Finland posted a decline of 2.0 per cent. The strongest annual house price growth during that period was recorded in Portugal, at 17.8 per cent, followed by Bulgaria with 14.8 per cent and Slovakia with 14.4 per cent. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, house prices declined in Belgium, Finland, France and Hungary, while Bulgaria, Portugal and Slovakia recorded the largest increases.