Europe’s simmering housing crisis is prompting nearly a quarter of citizens to emigrate in search of a cheaper life, and it’s not getting much worse than in Ireland, a massive survey of renters and homeowners has found.
A survey of 20,000 Europeans conducted by Opinium for real estate group RE/MAX found that 33% of Irish people are considering moving to another country due to declining affordability in the country. In all of Europe this is only surpassed by Malta.
“There is a huge affordability crisis on a scale we have never seen before,” said Michael Polzler, CEO of RE/MAX Europe Assets.
A fifth of RE/MAX survey respondents said they were either struggling or really struggling to pay their housing costs, while another 37% said they were just struggling with affordability. The proportion of people struggling to afford accommodation in Ireland was among the highest in Europe.
Ireland’s housing crisis
The specter of emigration has lingered throughout Ireland’s history, marked by a devastating famine between 1845 and 1852 that caused an estimated 2.1 million people to flee the country. However, Ireland has recently faced emigration problems, this time linked to financial constraints.
After the collapse of the “Celtic Tiger” in the wake of the global financial crisis, there was a renewed increase in emigration from the country: 386,100 people emigrated between 2009 and 2013.
RE/MAX’s latest survey data suggests that despite strong economic growth and a Multi-billion dollar surplusA rapid decline in affordability could trigger the next big exodus of Irish residents.
“I think when you see a very tense situation, like in Ireland, if they had the opportunity to go somewhere else, they would do that because that is a particularly tense situation,” Polzler said.
Ireland revived its economy after the financial crisis by using competitive corporate taxes to lure U.S. tech giants such as Meta, Google and Apple to set up European headquarters in the country.
This push for foreign investment undoubtedly brought money and well-paying jobs to Irish shores while increasing the country’s GDP.
“But that doesn’t work without living space,” said Polzler.
In fact, Ireland has a severe shortage of housing to accommodate its growing population. According to the Central Bank of Ireland, 52,000 houses need to be built in the country every year for demand to keep up with supply.
Meanwhile, residents are struggling as the average rent in Dublin is €1,829 per month.
Homelessness in Ireland has been increasing since mid-2021 and is reaching new levels Record high by almost 14,500 people in January.
RE/MAX’s Polzler said the common problem across Europe was the failure of governments to build more housing.
“Governments have been very slow in issuing new building permits,” says Polzler. “Even if a developer wants to build, he has to pay a fortune to get permission to do so.”
Tighten your belt
RE/MAX’s survey found that a large majority of European homeowners are tightening their belts to afford rising mortgage costs.
Eurozone interest rates rose to a near peak of 4.5% in 2023 as inflation rose into double digits. This caused mortgages for homeowners to rise, which often affected rental prices.
Four in 10 respondents said they had cut back on their nightlife and holiday travel, which may explain the decline in flight demand this year.
In a speech in May, Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Irish airline Ryanair, said he wanted a “Feeling of recession“from European passengers in the build up to the normally busy summer travel season.
Meanwhile, more than a quarter of those surveyed said they had canceled subscriptions to services such as Netflix, Spotify and magazine memberships.
“Everything that is not mandatory is deleted because there is no other way,” says Polzler.