Love as a financial strategy? Single Europeans turn to relationships to get on property ladder

House prices are rising again across the EU, and many single youngsters are facing increasing barriers to getting on the property ladder.

After a brief dip in 2023, property price tags inflated again in 2024 and surged by 5.4% in Q2 2025, according to the latest Eurostat data.

One of the social fallouts is that people who are not in a relationship are feeling increasingly shut out of the housing market.

More specifically, 37% of solo dwellers now believe they will never be able to buy a home.

This is one of the key findings of a new survey of more than 20,000 people across 23 countries, conducted by real-estate franchise RE/MAX and shared exclusively with Europe in Motion.

Fast-tracking relationships to fast-track home buying?

Coupling up is emerging as a practical shortcut to home buying, according to 26% of respondents who plan to get on the property ladder — the third most cited solution.

Here, the percentage is highest in the Netherlands and Portugal — both with 33% — and especially among Gen Zs across Europe (35%), who appear a bit less individualistic, or perhaps more pragmatic, than their older Millennial brothers and sisters (25%).

Perhaps that also explains why Gen Z couples move in together faster than any other generation: 2.7 years on average, compared to 3.2 years among Millennials.

British lovebirds tend to be the quickest to move in together — after just two years and four months — the shortest timeline in Europe. France sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, with an average of more than four years, the longest on the continent, followed by Italy.

What other solutions are Europeans looking at to get on the property ladder?

In general, many people do seem to be fast-tracking cohabitation: 13% of European couples move in together after just six months, while 26% do so within a year.

"Affordability is shaping not just where people live, but who they live with", said RE/MAX Europe CEO Michael Polzler. "While rising housing costs continue to affect everyone, those without a partner or shared income face the toughest climb to homeownership."

Others are looking at geography instead: 14% say moving to a cheaper area could be their way onto the property ladder, a strategy most common in Germany (20%) and Turkey (23%).

Lovelife aside, the big elephant in the room is salary, cited as the number one barrier (by 58% of responses), with peaks in Poland (66%) and Hungary (67%).

Gen Zs, more likely to have entry or junior jobs, are the most affected by the wage issue when it comes to buying (62%). However, there's a surprise: the salary issue is slightly more cited by Baby Boomers (57%) and Gen X (56%) than Millennials (55%).

Solo living: Where is it least and most expensive in Europe?

Singles own far less property than their coupled-up counterparts. While 72% of people in a couple own the place they live in, the figure drops to 49% among solo dwellers.

However, the gaps between countries are even starker.

Homeownership rates among those living alone are significantly low in Switzerland (17%), Germany (19%) and Malta (15%).

The estimated housing cost of living alone for Europeans is 36% of their income on average, including bills. Germany has one of the heaviest tolls — almost 42% of a single person's income — while in the neighbouring Czech Republic, it rises to more than 45%.

Italy, France and Spain see a somewhat softer burden, all three being less than 33%, while the UK is in line with the European average, at 36%.

The most convenient place to live alone in Europe is Lithuania, according to the survey, where less than a quarter of one's salary goes on housing.

Housing market latest: Where are prices rising the most?

The housing market prices are back on the rise across most of the EU in 2025.

Except for Finland (-1.3%), all member states reported higher price tags in Q2.

The steepest increases were recorded in Portugal (+17.2%), Bulgaria (+15.5%) and Hungary (+15.1%).

In 2023, even at deflated rates (so adjusted for inflation), the average EU house prices had been plummeting (-6.4%).

It followed the European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates several times to combat soaring inflation, which led to a hike in mortgage rates and a consequent drop in consumer demand,while 2024 saw just a timid 0.6% increase in house prices.