The cost of buying a home in major European cities varies sharply, with Zurich emerging as the continent’s most expensive city for city-centre apartments and Istanbul ranking as the cheapest.
Housing affordability remains a major concern across Europe as buyers face high prices in capitals, large urban areas and popular tourist destinations. The latest figures from Deutsche Bank Research Institute’s “Mapping the World’s Prices 2026” report compare the cost of buying an apartment in the city centre across 69 cities worldwide, including 28 European locations.
Switzerland occupies the top two positions in Europe. An apartment in central Zurich costs an average of €22,910 per square metre, while Geneva stands at €19,439. An 80-square-metre apartment would therefore cost about €1.83 million in Zurich and €1.56 million in Geneva.
London ranks third at €17,241 per square metre. An 80-square-metre property in the British capital would cost approximately €1.38 million, or about £1.18 million.
Paris follows at €12,771 per square metre, making London about 35% more expensive. Vienna completes the top five at €12,483.
Among Europe’s five largest economies, only the capitals of the UK and France appear in the top 10. Munich is Germany’s most expensive city in the ranking at €11,435 per square metre.
Luxembourg follows at €11,011, while Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo record prices of €10,191, €10,037 and €9,785 respectively. Three Nordic cities are therefore among Europe’s 10 most expensive locations.
Elsewhere, Milan costs €9,378 per square metre and Amsterdam €9,273. Helsinki ranks 13th at €8,431, while Prague is priced at €8,352.
Madrid and Berlin are slightly cheaper at €7,831 and €7,613 respectively. Rome follows at €7,328, while Dublin and Frankfurt stand at €7,185 and €7,162.
Prices fall further in Lisbon and Barcelona, where the cost per square metre is €6,636 and €6,485.
At the other end of the European ranking, Istanbul is the cheapest at €2,646 per square metre. Athens follows at €3,442, while Brussels records €4,380. Birmingham costs €4,671, with Budapest, Warsaw and Edinburgh at €5,243, €5,443 and €5,708.
The average price across the 28 European cities is €9,090 per square metre, meaning an 80-square-metre apartment would cost about €727,000.
Globally, Hong Kong tops the ranking at €23,790 per square metre, followed by Zurich and Seoul. Cairo is the cheapest at €784, followed by Johannesburg at €913.
The figures combine data from Numbeo and Deutsche Bank and use European Central Bank average exchange rates for the first half of 2026.
