In 2024, annual apartment price growth was 3.6%, average annual growth – 2.9%

The Ober-Haus Lithuanian apartment price index (OHBI), which follows changes in apartment sale prices in the five biggest Lithuanian cities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys) increased by 0.5% in December 2024. The annual apartment price growth in the biggest cities of Lithuania was 3.6%. The average annual apartment price growth in 2024 (January – December 2024 compared to January – December 2023) reached 2.9%.

In December 2024 apartment prices in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys increased by 0.6%, 0.7%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 0.4%, respectively, with the average price per square meter reaching EUR 2,646 (+14 EUR/sqm), EUR 1,819 (+12 EUR/sqm), EUR 1,719 (+2 EUR/sqm), EUR 1,147 (+7 EUR/sqm), and EUR 1,123 (+4 EUR/sqm).

In the past 12 months, the prices of apartments increased in all the biggest cities in the country: 2.8% in Vilnius, 4.8% in Kaunas, 4.8% in Klaipėda, 4.4% in Šiauliai and 3.9% in Panevėžys.

“In 2024, the country’s housing market was characterised by a volatile mood. A decline in market activity was recorded until the middle of the year, before recovering in the second half of the year. However, the total number of registered transactions in the country in 2024 remained almost the same as in 2023. Meanwhile, sales prices of apartments have been slowly moving upwards, increasing by 3.6% over the year in the country’s major cities, i.e. slightly faster than in 2023 (1.7%).

However, the average annual price change in 2024 was one of the lowest in the last decade, at 2.9%. In 2024, the average annual change slowed down considerably compared to the previous year, as in 2023, the sales prices of apartments have largely stopped rising and a high comparative base has been formed. In 2024, the trajectory of sales prices of apartments again broadly followed the general inflation trend, although house prices still rose slightly faster than the prices of other consumer goods and services in the country.

In 2024, the biggest changes were recorded in the primary market of metropolitan apartments. Compared to 2023, Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda saw a 40% increase in the number of flats sold on the primary market. In 2024, the rapid growth of new-build apartment sales volumes in the primary market was driven by the extremely low activity rates in 2023 and returning buyers to this market. Also in 2024, new-build apartments appreciated at twice the rate of older construction. On average, new-build flats in the country’s major cities increased in price by 5.4%, while older flats increased in price by 2.3%.

In the second half of 2024, the general mood on the housing market improved, as positive news dominated the public space: a consistent decline in interest rates on loans, a recovering housing sales market, rising real personal income levels due to falling inflation and positive prospects for the overall development of the country’s economy. This has encouraged potential homebuyers to become more active in their purchasing decisions, and it seems that the positive trends in the housing market will continue in 2025.

This year is likely to see a rapid increase in housing market activity. With the number of housing purchases in the first half of 2024 having fallen to the lows of the last decade, the low comparative base provides the conditions for strong relative growth. At the same time, house prices, which have reached record highs, remain the biggest challenge for potential homebuyers even in a falling interest rate environment. Therefore, the pace of house price growth in 2025 will also depend to a large extent on the growth of real incomes of the population, especially of the middle class – who are the most important players in the housing market and largely shape the overall level of house prices in the country,” says Raimondas Reginis, Ober-Haus Research Manager for the Baltics.

Full review (PDF): Lithuanian Apartment Price Index, December 2024