Lithuanian Apartment Prices Accelerate Across Major Cities
Apartment prices in Lithuania’s five largest cities continued to accelerate in July 2026, with the Ober-Haus index rising 1.1% in a month and 12.9% from a year earlier. All five markets recorded gains, led by Šiauliai, while Vilnius remained the most expensive at an average €3,120 per square meter. A separate Bank of Lithuania repeat-sales index shows even stronger nationwide housing appreciation of 18.1%, although the two measures are not directly comparable because they cover different properties and use different methodologies.
Apartment prices rose in all five major cities
The Ober-Haus Lithuanian Apartment Price Index, or OHBI, tracks Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. It rose 1.1% in July, while annual growth accelerated to 12.9% from 12.5% in June. Vilnius gained 0.9% in one month to €3,120 per square meter. Kaunas rose 1% to €2,253, Klaipėda 1.6% to €2,032, Šiauliai 1.8% to €1,415 and Panevėžys 1.2% to €1,375. Over 12 months, prices increased 12.2%, 15%, 11.2%, 16.4% and 15.2%, respectively.
OHBI specifically measures apartment prices in Lithuania’s five largest cities, so its 12.9% annual figure should not be presented as the growth rate for the entire Lithuanian housing market. The index uses a weighting system based on factors including available supply, transactions, location, apartment size, age and completion.
Šiauliai and Panevėžys are outpacing Vilnius
Vilnius remains much more expensive in absolute terms, but the fastest price gains are now being recorded in cheaper cities.
Šiauliai led annual growth at 16.4%, followed by Panevėžys at 15.2% and Kaunas at 15%. Vilnius rose 12.2%, while Klaipėda gained 11.2%.
The acceleration is substantial compared with previous years. The five-city index was rising just 3.2% annually in July 2024 and 7.2% in July 2025 before reaching 12.9% this July. The nominal OHBI increased from 1,037.7 points in July 2025 to 1,172.1.
Bank of Lithuania index shows 18.1% growth
A broader measure from the Bank of Lithuania points to even stronger housing appreciation. Its repeat-sales house price index increased 18.1% nationwide in July from a year earlier. Vilnius gained 14.74%, Kaunas 25.02% and Klaipėda 15.96%. Outside the three largest city municipalities, annual growth reached 22.32%. The central bank labels the latest figures incomplete, meaning they can subsequently be revised.
The gap between the 18.1% and 12.9% readings reflects methodology rather than an error. The central bank compares repeated sales of the same dwelling, provided it has been sold at least twice, and its monthly index incorporates transactions from the reporting month and the previous two months. OHBI covers apartments in five cities using a weighted methodology.
Both measures nevertheless point to the same broad development: Lithuanian housing-price growth has accelerated sharply in 2026.
Housing prices are far outpacing inflation
Consumer inflation accounts for only part of the increase. Lithuania’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices was 5.4% higher in July than a year earlier. That was the second-highest annual rate in the European Union after Romania’s 8.2%, rather than the highest. EU inflation averaged 3%.
The 12.9% annual increase in the five-city apartment index was therefore more than twice the harmonised inflation rate.
Ober-Haus’s inflation-adjusted series provides the same signal. The real OHBI increased from 185.2 points in July 2025 to 198.5 in July 2026, a gain of roughly 7.2%. Housing is therefore appreciating not just in nominal euros but relative to the broader consumer-price level.
Home prices are rising about twice as fast as wages
Affordability is becoming the central constraint. The Bank of Lithuania said the main housing indices were rising at an annual rate of 12% to 17% during the spring, while average take-home wages had increased about 8%.
Housing remains more affordable for an average-income earner than it was in 2015. The position is worse for a median-income resident: median earnings have increased about 150% over the past decade, compared with roughly 170% growth in housing prices.
Activity remained high in spring, with transactions running 10% to 15% above their long-term average, although the central bank no longer saw further sales growth. Investment transactions also reached the record level last seen in 2021. About one-third of Lithuanian housing transactions are classified as investment purchases, rising to about 40% in Vilnius and 37% in Kaunas.
The definition is broader than “buy-to-let.” The central bank classifies a transaction as investment-related when a household purchases a residential property worth less than at least one home it already owns, as well as residential acquisitions by companies.
New Lithuanian housing loans averaged 4.09%
Borrowing costs, which had helped revive demand as they eased from previous peaks, edged higher in July. The average interest rate on new household loans for house purchase increased 0.06 percentage point to 4.09%.
The outstanding stock of household housing loans increased by €201.7 million, or 1.3%, during the month to €16.3 billion. It was 14.1% higher than a year earlier.
The comparable euro-area composite borrowing cost for new house-purchase loans was 3.54% in July. Loans with a floating rate or an initial fixation of up to one year averaged 3.69%.
Lithuanian buyers are consequently dealing with double-digit property appreciation while new housing-loan rates remain above the euro-area composite average.
Investment demand continues to support the market
Investment purchases remain an important component of Lithuanian housing demand. During the first quarter of 2026, their number reached the record level previously recorded in 2021, while transactions by buyers purchasing homes for their own use were broadly unchanged from a year earlier.
That helps sustain demand even as affordability worsens for owner-occupiers. It can also make the market more sensitive to changes in financing costs, taxation and expected returns.
The Bank of Lithuania has already warned that housing-price imbalances have increased, making the market more vulnerable to shocks.
Supply is rising, but much of it remains unfinished
Developers are responding to stronger demand. Primary-market housing supply in Lithuania’s major cities reached about 10,000 units in June, 25% more than a year earlier.
The headline figure does not represent 10,000 completed homes. In Vilnius, around 70% of new housing advertised for sale was still under construction. Historical data suggest that stronger development activity normally translates into a meaningful increase in completed physical supply after five to seven quarters.
The Bank of Lithuania therefore expects the largest increase in completed supply in the summer and autumn of 2027.
Until then, a significant part of primary-market reservations is likely to involve homes that have not yet been completed.
Lithuania’s housing market is entering a more stretched phase
July’s figures show a broad-based upswing rather than a Vilnius-only story. Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Kaunas are all recording faster annual apartment-price growth than the capital.
At the same time, the gap between housing prices and household earnings is widening. Investment demand remains strong, mortgage lending is expanding and completed supply is reacting with a lag. Those forces support current prices but also make the market more sensitive to changes in financing conditions.
The more significant counterweight may emerge in 2027, when today’s construction pipeline begins turning into completed housing. Until then, worsening affordability is likely to remain the principal constraint for owner-occupier demand.
As International Investment experts report, Lithuania’s double-digit price growth can no longer be explained simply as a recovery from the period of expensive borrowing. Apartments are appreciating substantially faster than inflation and wages, while the upswing has spread from Vilnius to regional cities. Strong investment demand and delayed completion of new projects may support prices for some time, but a widening gap between home values and household earnings raises the risk of weaker owner-occupier demand. For investors, current momentum remains favorable, but the larger volume of completed supply expected in 2027 and the unusually rapid recent appreciation should be incorporated into longer-term return assumptions.
FAQ: Lithuania property prices in 2026
How fast are Lithuanian apartment prices rising?
Ober-Haus recorded 12.9% annual growth in apartment prices across the five largest cities in July. That is not a nationwide measure. The Bank of Lithuania’s broader repeat-sales housing index showed an 18.1% annual increase.
How much does an apartment cost in Vilnius?
The average OHBI price reached €3,120 per square meter in July, up 0.9% in one month and 12.2% from a year earlier.
Which city has the fastest apartment-price growth?
Šiauliai led the five OHBI markets with a 16.4% annual increase, followed by Panevėžys at 15.2% and Kaunas at 15%.
How expensive are Kaunas and Klaipėda?
Average apartment prices reached €2,253 per square meter in Kaunas and €2,032 in Klaipėda. Annual increases were 15% and 11.2%, respectively.
Why are Ober-Haus and Bank of Lithuania figures different?
They cover different properties and use different methodologies. Ober-Haus tracks apartments in five large cities, while the central bank’s index uses repeat sales of the same dwellings across a broader national market.
Are property prices rising faster than inflation?
Yes. Lithuania’s harmonised inflation rate was 5.4% in July, compared with 12.9% annual growth in the five-city apartment index. The inflation-adjusted OHBI increased by about 7.2%.
Is housing affordability deteriorating?
Yes. The Bank of Lithuania says house prices have recently been rising at about twice the pace of average take-home wages. Affordability for a median-income earner is already worse than a decade ago.
How large is investment demand?
Around one-third of housing transactions nationwide are classified by the Bank of Lithuania as investment transactions, rising to about 40% in Vilnius and 37% in Kaunas. The statistical category is broader than purchases made purely for rental income.
When will completed housing supply increase?
The Bank of Lithuania expects the most significant increase in completed new housing during the second half of 2027. Much of the current primary-market inventory is still under construction.