Brussels, 11 February 2009                            

Press Release

Trends in the European Residential Property Market in 2008

• The financial crisis and its impact on the residential property market
• Lack of liquidity and difficulties in obtaining credit
• Falls in confidence and number of transactions
• Ongoing, some substantial, price falls in most European countries but differences in timing

2008 was a year of substantial changes in the residential property market in most European countries; those changes as usual being more marked in certain countries (for example Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Latvia and Estonia). In some countries (for example Finland) the change was abrupt. The year saw growing economic and financial problems which became a global credit crisis on a large scale. CEPI defines the timeline of the crisis in relation to the European residential property market and looks at various national property markets in that context.

The impact of the crisis was felt first in the housing markets of those countries which had experienced recent housing bubbles particularly Ireland where transaction levels fell by 50%, Spain where a fall in prices of -40% was reported and the United Kingdom. However by the end of 2008 the crisis had reached such intensity that all markets in Europe were touched in some way.

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe have seen strong development of their property markets due to economic changes and in particular membership of the EU. Some of those markets, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, continued to see prices rise with an increase of +5% in the Czech Republic. However, the stabilization predicted for those markets has been endangered by the credit crisis and it remains to be seen how long this will be the case. Other markets fell, Latvia -24% and Estonia -16.3%.

It is impossible to make concrete predictions for 2009, particularly after such an uncertain and difficult year. Largely speaking the property market is now awaiting economic improvement and in particular the freeing up of the markets for credit. There is a lot of nervousness which appears set to continue at least in the short-term.

2008 was a challenging year for property professionals, particularly estate agents, who faced a tough and rapidly changing market. CEPI gives some examples of how professional associations have been able to come to the assistance of their members in meeting these challenges. It also confirms how different the markets within the EU, and sometimes even within individual countries, are and concludes with some comments as to the need for accurate reporting of property price movements in the EU.

The full report in English is available here - download PDF

CEPI (Conseil européen des Professions Immobilières) is the main European professional association for estate agents and property managers representing 42 member associations in 25 countries.

For further information about the contents of this report and also CEPI and its activities please contact

Xavier Ortegat or Janet Griffiths at

CEPI
aisbl avenue de Tervueren 36, bte 2
B - 1040 Brussels

tel. +32 2 735 49 90, fax +32 2 735 99 88
xavier.ortegaepi.eu  janet.griffithepi.eu .