Rent is where most relocation budgets break, and the hardest part is often not the price but the hunt. In the tightest markets, you can have the money and still spend weeks competing for a flat. This guide ranks all 27 EU countries by housing pressure, so you can see where finding a home is realistic, not just affordable on paper.
Cost is not the same as pressure
- Housing pressure: how hard it is to actually find a place, driven by demand, supply and competition.
- Cost of living: what you pay once you are in.
A country can be cheap on paper yet brutal to move to if every decent flat has a queue, which is why both matter.
All 27 EU countries by housing pressure
Here is where MoveMap’s model rates each EU country on housing pressure, least pressured first, with cost of living alongside it (illustrative scores only):
| Country | Housing pressure* | Relative cost* |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 45 | 40 |
| Romania | 48 | 42 |
| Latvia | 50 | 50 |
| Lithuania | 50 | 50 |
| Slovakia | 52 | 48 |
| Croatia | 55 | 48 |
| Estonia | 55 | 54 |
| Finland | 55 | 72 |
| Greece | 55 | 52 |
| Hungary | 55 | 48 |
| Poland | 55 | 45 |
| Slovenia | 58 | 58 |
| Czechia | 60 | 52 |
| Italy | 60 | 62 |
| Belgium | 62 | 70 |
| Austria | 65 | 74 |
| Cyprus | 65 | 58 |
| Denmark | 70 | 82 |
| Malta | 70 | 62 |
| France | 72 | 70 |
| Sweden | 72 | 78 |
| Germany | 75 | 75 |
| Spain | 75 | 60 |
| Portugal | 80 | 55 |
| Luxembourg | 85 | 88 |
| Netherlands | 90 | 80 |
| Ireland | 92 | 80 |
The capital is the hardest part
Pressure is concentrated in the big, popular cities, where even affordable countries can have fierce competition for the best flats. Looking slightly outside the centre, or at a second city, often turns a stressful search into an easy one without giving up much.
Match it to your budget
Whether you want to buy, rent long term or land somewhere flexible first, the MoveMap check weighs housing alongside your budget and lifestyle to rank all 27 EU countries for you.