The lack of housing development in Europe has reached crisis point, according to Oliver Röpke, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). At a housing conference in Belgium in March, he declared: “We need to act now.”

A number of headwinds have contributed to Europe’s housing emergency. The macroeconomic backdrop of the last few years, featuring high interest rates, rising inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, has played its part. Geopolitics and a pandemic made their mark too, including in the form of supply-chain issues.  Building costs have gone through the roof. According to Statista, the cost of pig iron, steel and ferroalloys used for construction in 2023 rose around 22 per cent in Germany.

“Overall, it is clear that construction is at a slower pace throughout Europe and new stock is lagging behind demand,” says Bas Wilberts, head of residential & hotel investments at Savills in Amsterdam.

Economics and geopolitics are