Rising construction and land costs top the list of factors Europeans associate with housing unaffordability, with 72 percent of respondents rating the impact as high or very high, according to a 2025 survey conducted by Statista. Population growth and urban migration follow at 66 percent, slow wage growth at 64 percent, and financial factors such as low interest rates and speculative investment at 61 percent.
Beyond cost pressures, opinion is less uniform. 59 percent of respondents flag insufficient new housing construction as a high-impact factor, but 14 percent disagree, the widest split among supply-side issues. Long approval processes and zoning restrictions sit at 53 percent, vacant or underused properties at 50 percent, and short-term tourist rentals at 48 percent.
