Housing Cost Burden in Salzburg. WIFO Study Sheds Light on the Causes and Provides Possible Solutions

Michael Klien

29.03.2022

Housing Cost Burden in Salzburg

WIFO Study Sheds Light on the Causes and Provides Possible Solutions

Compared to the rest of Austria, Salzburg has the highest rents per square metre and also ranks among the top Austrian cities in terms of property prices. According to a recent WIFO study, central levers for a sustainable reduction of the high housing cost burden in Salzburg are the increase of the below-average share of social housing and the dampening of building and land costs.

Despite the high market prices, new construction activity in the federal province has remained below expectations for many years. In addition, residential construction in Salzburg is increasingly being pushed away from central locations into rural areas. Based on this initial situation, the WIFO study commissioned by the Salzburg Chamber of Labour analyses the causes of these developments on the Salzburg housing market.

First, different perspectives of the high housing cost burden in the federal province of Salzburg and the consequences for the affected households are examined. The comprehensive data analyses show that in addition to private for-profit providers, social housing in Salzburg is also markedly more expensive than in other federal provinces. A detailed examination of the main cost components reveals that both construction costs and land costs in Salzburg are above average, the latter also being related to a comparatively restrictive zoning. The high costs of housing construction inhibit new housing construction in Salzburg.

Press releases of the AK Salzburg are available here.