Urban household growth in Europe is now three times the rate of population growth

Urban household formation is now more than three times the broader rate of population growth in Europe, reported Greystar. The trend is driven by the “three gears” of population growth, urbanization and household formation, all of which are closely interlinked. Population growth is levered by urbanization trends in towns and cities, which is then levered by the rise of single-person households. This has resulted in urban household growth of 10 percent since 2010, compared with the European population (EU included United Kingdom), which has grown by 3 percent over the same period.

Independent of these trends, there has been a sharp rise in home prices around the world largely driven by supply-side pressures and historically low interest rates. In Germany, which arguably boasts Europe’s most developed Private Rented Sector market, home prices have risen 20 percent faster than income and 25 percent faster than rents over the last five years. Meanwhile London and Paris are