House price growth in Slovakia slowed over the summer, even as mortgage lending returned to pre-rate rise levels. According to the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), average prices rose by 1.5% between June and August, down from more than 4% in the first quarter. Prices in August were still 12% higher than a year earlier.
Demand for mortgages has bounced back, with both the number and size of loans rising. The average mortgage now nears EUR 110,000, supported by falling interest rates – down to an average 3.7% in summer, with some banks offering below 3.5%. Younger as well as older borrowers are taking on bigger debts.
Yet affordability has barely improved. Rising wages and lower rates have only just offset higher property costs, leaving housing still out of reach for many.
The bigger risk lies in supply. New construction is weak: completions in the first half of 2025 were down nearly a fifth on last year, and in Bratislava – where demand is strongest – they fell to the lowest level in more than two decades.
Economists warn that fiscal tightening and a slowing economy will hit household incomes and savings, further dampening demand. The NBS expects the economy to grow by just 0.8% next year, with 30,000 jobs likely to go.
For now, Slovakia’s housing market sits between conflicting forces: cheaper mortgages and strong demand on one side, but weak construction and fragile household finances on the other. (The Slovak Spectator)