Deloitte: Munich is Europe's priciest city for new homes, Sofia among cheapest rents

Munich has overtaken Luxembourg to become Europe's most expensive city for buying a newly built home. According to the Deloitte Property Index 2026, presented in Germany on Oct. 21, 2026, a square meter in a new-build apartment in the Bavarian capital costs an average of 11,200 euros, t-online reported on Oct. 22, 2026. Luxembourg City follows with 10,567 euros, Amsterdam with 8,650 euros and Barcelona with 8,037 euros per square meter, according to Deloitte Romania on Oct. 12, 2026. The study's 15th edition covers 25 European countries and 71 cities, with data for 2025 and the first half of 2026.

At country level, new homes are most expensive in Luxembourg at an average of 9,160 euros per square meter, ahead of the Czech Republic at 5,412 euros and Germany at 5,200 euros. They are cheapest in Turkey at 864 euros, Serbia at 1,706 euros and Albania at 1,720 euros per square meter. Luxembourg also tops the rent table at 45.40 euros per square meter a month, followed by Paris at 31.20 euros and Barcelona at 30.90 euros. At the other end are Bulgarian cities: Plovdiv, Varna and Sofia have the lowest rents of the EU cities studied, at 6.60 to 8.70 euros per square meter a month. Deloitte does not publish a national average new-build price for Bulgaria.

To measure affordability, Deloitte calculates how many local annual salaries are needed to buy a new 70-square-meter apartment. The ratio is best in Turin at 4.7 salaries and worst in Vlorë, Albania, at 21.3 salaries. No relief is in sight: Deloitte expects rents to keep rising in 19 of 24 countries, and affordability is expected to worsen through 2029 in 13 countries. "Germany remains one of the most expensive housing markets in Europe," said Nina Schrader, partner and Real Estate Leader Germany at Deloitte.