In the first quarter, rental costs in Austria averaged 9.1 euros per square meter – this means an increase of 7.8 percent compared to the first three months of last year 2022. As Statistics Austria also reports, monthly rents rose without operating costs per square meter by 8.4 percent. The trend is rising.
The increases in the reference and category rents that took place in April and May have not yet been included in this calculation. As of 1 July, a further increase in category rents of 5.5 percent is imminent. In the spring, the government parties ÖVP and the Greens had not yet agreed on a rent brake, which the smaller coalition partner, in contrast to the People’s Party, would have liked to see. A compromise was reached with one-off payments. EUR 250 million has been made available for housing support, of which EUR 25 million as an increase for the housing umbrella organization against evictions.
Average rental price 9.1 euros per square meter
“At the beginning of 2023, rents rose again in Austria,” recalls Tobias Thomas, head of Statistics Austria. “In the first quarter, the average monthly rent including operating costs was 611.9 euros per main rental home or 9.1 euros per square meter.”
Thomas warns that if inflation remains high, tenants with a value retention clause in the lease will face further increases. “In addition, the benchmark rents were increased in April and the category rent will be adjusted in July,” the head of the authority recalled. “We therefore assume that housing costs will continue to rise in the coming quarters.”
Average operating costs of 2.4 euros per square meter
The operating costs in the first three months of this year averaged 156.9 euros per apartment or 2.4 euros per square meter. The rent without exploitation costs (net rent) amounted to 457.7 euros per main rental home or 6.8 euros per square meter. The net rent per square meter increased by 2.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of 2022, and by 8.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022.
A look at the development of operating costs per rental segment shows that the increase in net rent is highest for private rented homes. The average net rent per square meter there was 8.4 euros in the first quarter of 2023. Compared to the same quarter of last year (first quarter of 2022: 7.7 euros), this means an increase of 10.3 percent.
The cheapest way to live is in a social rental home
In an average comparison, social rental homes had the cheapest net rent at 5.0 euros per square meter. Here, the increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2022: 4.6 euros) was 6.9 percent below the Austrian average. Only cooperative homes showed an even lower increase at 5.4 percent than in the same quarter last year. The average net rent there was 5.6 euros in the first quarter of 2023 (first quarter of 2022: 5.4 euros).
The rental costs relate to an extrapolated 1.76 million main rental apartments in Austria.
Source: Krone
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