Lithuania was found to have the best record, Hungary came second and Iceland third. Altogether 34 countries were ranked by the Australian home loan comparison site, Compare the Market.
By analysing OECD data on real-home prices between 2015 to 2021 and the change in average wages during the same time, Comparing the Market generated an index of the countries with the best long-term property investment return.
Compare the Market’s index found that the Baltic nation of Lithuania is the best country for long-term investment. Scoring 18.48 out of a possible 20, Lithuania scored high with an average house price growth of 56.65% between 2015 and 2021 and an average wage increase of 39.74%. As a result, Lithuania offers its property buyers a high return on property prices as well as great salary increases at the same time.
Hungary comes second on the index (18.18/20) with a property price rise of 68.32% and a 20.90% wage increase in the six years. Iceland, Poland and the Czech Republic are equal third with an index score of 17.87 out of 20.
Looking at the factors individually, Hungary had the most significant property price growth in the six years between 2015 and 2021. The Netherlands (13th on the index) followed closely behind with an average rise of 68.97%. The Czech Republic is the only other country with a property price growth rate above 60%.
The Baltics are the place to be for wage growth, with all three countries, Lithuania, Latvia (6th on the index) and Estonia (7th on the index), in the top three for an increase in wages. These three are also the only countries with an average salary growth above 30%.
33 of the 34 countries analysed had increases in property prices between 2015 and 2021, with only Italy documenting a decrease of 1.22%. Four countries also had decreased average wages, with Mexico having the greatest downfall at -9.22%. Norway (-6.40%), Greece (-2.41%), and Spain (-1.65%) followed Mexico’s lead with negative growth in wages.
