Three Slovak cities have made the top ten European cities with the least affordable housing in a Deloitte ranking comparing property prices across 25 European countries.
According to the Deloitte Property Index 2026, residents of Košice need the equivalent of 15 years of average gross salaries to afford a newly built 70-square-metre apartment. This is the fourth-worst result among the European cities included in the ranking.
Bratislava and Banská Bystrica also made the top ten, meaning all three Slovak cities covered by the study feature among those with the least affordable housing. In Bratislava, the equivalent figure is 13.7 average annual salaries, while in Banská Bystrica it is 13.4.
By comparison, Turin in Italy, the most affordable city in the study, requires just 4.7 years of average salary to purchase an apartment of the same size. In Bergen, Norway, and Odense, Denmark, the figure is 4.9 years. In London, it stands at 11 years, while in Milan it is slightly above nine.
The least affordable city in the ranking is Vlorë in Albania, where a new apartment costs the equivalent of 21.3 years of average gross salaries. Demand for property there comes not only from local residents but also from foreign investors interested in premium coastal developments and betting on further growth in tourism.
Vlorë had not previously featured in Deloitte’s ranking. Prague and Athens also made the top three cities with the least affordable housing.
Overall, housing affordability in Slovakia continues to deteriorate, Deloitte notes. In 2025, prices for new apartments in the country rose by 12.5%. At the same time, construction activity is declining, while strong demand continues to push property prices higher. The average price of a new home in Slovakia reached €3,656 per square metre, while the number of completed apartments fell by 19.1% year on year.
Rising prices have been driven by a recovery in demand, improved mortgage lending conditions and growth in real wages. Supply constraints are adding further pressure, including high construction costs, a shortage of suitable building plots and lengthy planning and approval procedures.
New construction is also facing difficulties. In 2025, Slovakia had just 2.79 apartments under construction per 1,000 residents. In Turkey, the figure reached 12.91.
Slovakia also ranked among the three countries with the lowest number of housing projects started, ahead of only Italy and the United Kingdom in terms of the severity of the shortfall. However, price trends in those countries differed from Slovakia’s: new apartment prices edged down in Italy, while the UK recorded an increase of just 3.5%.
Why Is Slovakia Facing a Housing Shortage?
Deloitte attributes the low level of construction primarily to a severe shortage of skilled workers. Most construction companies report difficulties recruiting staff, limiting their capacity and slowing project completion.
The decline in the number of completed apartments in 2025 was also affected by the downturn in the preceding period, when construction was slowed or put on hold because of high interest rates and weaker demand.
Other obstacles include rising material and labour costs, which increase project budgets and financing needs. New residential developments are also being delayed by lengthy approval procedures and the limited availability of suitable building plots.
Experts say the situation requires an increase in the supply of new homes and simpler construction procedures. Without these changes, the gap between demand and the number of available apartments will continue to put upward pressure on prices.
As homeownership becomes more expensive, the rental market is growing in importance. At the end of 2025, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Slovakia reached €749.
Demand for rental housing is concentrated primarily in the largest cities, where supply is failing to keep pace with residents’ needs. As a result, both buying and renting a home remain a major expense for many households.
