High apartment prices and Albanians' low incomes continue to rank Tirana among the 10 most expensive cities in Europe for the affordability of buying a property (calculated as the ratio of average apartment prices to the average disposable family income, expressed as years of income, for a 90-meter apartment).

According to Numbeo data for 2024, 15.3 years were needed to buy an apartment in Tirana, the ninth most expensive city in Europe, while in Lisbon, the most expensive city in Europe, a family needs 19.5 years to become a property owner.

Due to the high increase in apartment prices in Europe, some countries are pursuing new fiscal measures to mitigate the housing crisis for locals.

Recently in Spain, the government has been mobilizing to undertake new fiscal measures. The proposal to impose a 100% tax on real estate buyers from non-EU countries is one of the measures intended to solve the housing crisis and increase prices to unaffordable levels for the country's citizens.

If the comparison is made, the sale prices of properties in the center and outside of it in Tirana have almost reached the same as in Madrid.

According to Numbeo data, prices per square meter in Madrid, in the area close to the center for 2024 have reached 6,416 euros per square meter. In areas outside the center, sales prices have reached 3,779 euros per square meter.

In Tirana, prices in towers vary from 5,000-5,500 euros per square meter according to data obtained from sales offices.

In areas outside the center of Madrid, sales prices have reached 3,779 euros per square meter. Spain proposes a 100% tax on the purchase of property by non-EU citizens.

At the entrance of the Commune of Paris, in the new residential areas that are being developed, the maximum price in December 2024 reached 3,500 euros per square meter. Compared to the prices of 2023 (car prices ranged from 2,600 to 2,800 euros per square meter) the increase is 25 to 35%.

Real estate agents are concerned that due to high prices, the demand of families for purchasing housing is decreasing.

The data on the level of the average salary also reveal the unaffordability of Albanian families for the purchase of apartments due to high prices.

Until the second quarter of 2024, the average monthly gross salary in the country reached the level of Lek 75,114 according to INSTAT data.