Large fluctuations

Home prices are cheapest here

How deep you have to dig into your pocket to own your own home varies greatly depending on the district.(Bild: jozsitoeroe - stock.adobe.com)

In the district of Schärding, condominiums were a quarter cheaper last year, while in Freistadt they were 14 percent more expensive. The "Krone" shows where it is cheapest to buy in Upper Austria - and where the most expensive residential property can currently be found.

Three bathrooms on the first floor, a sauna on the second floor, a 72 square meter eat-in kitchen and a heated pool outside on the roof terrace with a view over Lake Mondsee. This not exactly modest penthouse is currently the most expensive condominium in Upper Austria on an online sales platform. Purchase price for the 256 square meters of living space in the municipality of Mondsee: 4.08 million euros.

Vöcklabruck and Gmunden most expensive
Of course, the property belongs to the absolute luxury segment. But even apart from that, the area around the Salzkammergut lakes is the most expensive in the province: According to an analysis by the online sales platform, condominiums in the Vöcklabruck district cost an average of 4482 euros per square meter last year, with the Gmunden district following right behind at 4439 euros. Linz (4204 euros) and Freistadt (4114 euros) also cracked the 4000 euro mark - see also our chart below.

Prices of condominiums in Upper Austria in 2023.(Bild: Honorar)

Extrapolated to an 80 square meter apartment, the average purchase price in the provincial capital was EUR 336,000. The cheapest place to buy property is currently Schärding at 2583 euros per square meter.

Price slump in Schärding
This is also where prices fell the most by far: from 2022 to 2023, condominiums in Schärding became 26.4 percent cheaper. Even if such strong fluctuations are partly due to the individual market situation with many new residential units, real estate expert Judith Kössner notes: "After the asking prices of condominiums had experienced a continuous rise in recent years, there was a clear upheaval in 2023."

For Upper Austria, this means that prices fell in twelve out of 18 districts. But it also went in the other direction: in Freistadt, property became 13.6 percent more expensive.

Kommentar

Wo der Hut wirklich brennt

There are currently many ideas floating around as to how the dream of owning a home can become more affordable again, from a 100,000 euro subsidy for house builders to the suspension of land registry fees. All worthy of discussion, of course.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Harald Dostal)

But when it comes to housing, the heat is burning elsewhere: in view of inflation and rising rental costs, Oliver Jungwirth, managing director of the Wohnplattform association, which advises people threatened with eviction, recently warned: "I've never seen such a rush." Owning may be about dreams. But renting is about livelihoods.