Slovakia’s housing market is showing renewed strength after two years of decline, though the recovery remains uneven. Property prices stopped falling roughly a year ago, but substantial increases are so far concentrated in economically stronger regions, including Bratislava, Kosice and Trnava. Elsewhere, values are returning to previous peaks more slowly.
In the first quarter of 2025, national property prices rose by an average of 4% – the fastest quarterly increase since 2022, according to the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). In the Bratislava region, prices have already surpassed their historical highs. Kosice follows closely, with values just 1.5% below their peak.
“The rise in prices has been driven mainly by apartments in Bratislava and Kosice,” said Roman Vrbovsky, an NBS analyst.
He noted that older flats in Bratislava played a particularly important role, while smaller towns such as Senec, Pezinok and Spisska Nova Ves had also seen gains.
In central Slovakia, however, the recovery has lagged. Buyers are returning cautiously, unable or unwilling to pay prices comparable to those seen before 2022, when tighter monetary policy and higher interest rates cooled demand. Housing prices in regions such as Presov and Zilina remain about 10% below their previous highs. In Banska Bystrica, the gap is even wider.
Given Bratislava’s weight in national statistics – the region accounts for more than half the country’s housing price index – its sharp gains have driven the national average higher. Most of the increase came early in the year, particularly in the apartment sector.
Unexpectedly, older properties have outpaced new builds. While prices for new flats rose by 3.4%, older apartments jumped by 6%. Rising inflation expectations in the construction sector led many to anticipate higher prices for new homes, but “the data suggest otherwise,” Vrbovsky said.
What constitutes a “new build” in Slovakia remains murky. Officially, properties less than two years old qualify, though developers often market homes still under construction as new. Real estate website Nehnutelnosti.sk applies a looser definition, classifying properties up to ten years old as new – though in practice, mislabelling is common.
“Many so-called new properties were completed more than a decade ago,” said Michal Pruzinsky of Nehnutelnosti.sk.
At the start of 2025, a cyberattack on Slovakia’s land registry disrupted property transfers and mortgage approvals. Even so, banks issued almost as many new mortgages as in late 2024.
Supply has also begun to rebound after months of decline. The number of listings rose by 7%, driven largely by family homes. Yet demand remains robust.
“Figures on contracts and asking prices suggest that demand remains strong,” Vrbovsky said.
Falling borrowing costs may sustain momentum: mortgage rates fell below 3.9% in March and continued to decline, reflecting easing eurozone inflation and prospects for further European Central Bank rate cuts.
Average asking prices climbed 11.4% YoY, to EUR 2,700 per square metre, according to NBS data. Flat prices set a new record at EUR 3,041 per square metre, led by two-bedroom apartments. Houses also became more expensive, rising by 2.7%, to EUR 2,031 per square metre.
The sharp rebound has surprised some analysts.
“Many expected a slowdown after last year’s rush to avoid higher VAT,” said Marian Bulik, a financial analyst with OVB Allfinanz Slovensko. “Instead, prices continued to climb.”
Older apartments remain central to this trend.
“Sellers likely believe demand has strengthened enough to justify higher prices,” Bulik said.
However, he cautioned that NBS figures were based on asking prices. Only data from the Statistics Office, drawn from completed sales, would confirm whether the higher prices were realised.
Analysts expect price growth to moderate later this year.
“Annual growth should slow to around 7% in the second quarter,” Bulik said, noting that comparisons would then be made against the start of the recovery rather than the previous downturn.
Even so, demand shows little sign of waning, particularly for investment properties, which remain largely unaffected by proposed tax changes. With mortgage rates expected to approach 3%, market pressures may persist.
“The growing supply of homes is a positive sign,” said Tomas Bohacek, an analyst at 365.bank. “But strong demand and rising prices, particularly for older properties in desirable locations, point to a difficult environment for buyers as 2025 progresses.” (The Slovak Spectator)