In the first quarter of 2021, housing prices in the EU registered the strongest increase in almost 14 years, while Croatia registered the slowest growth in over three years, slipping below the European average, shows Thirsday's report by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the first quarter of 2021, house prices, as measured by the House Price Index, rose by 6.1% in the EU compared with the same quarter of the previous year. This was the highest annual increase since the third quarter of 2007.

At the end of 2020, house prices increased by 5.8% in the EU, according to Eurostat.

The euro area registered an increase of 5.8% in Q1, the strongest increase since the fourth quarter of 2006, Eurostat reported, adding that house prices in the euro area increased by 5.6% in Q4 of 2020.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in house prices in the first quarter of 2021 were recorded in Luxembourg (+17.0%),  Denmark (+15.3%) and Lithuania (+12.0%).

House prices in Croatia increased by 4.6% in Q1 2021 year on year, the lowest increase since the second quarter of 2018. In Q4 2020, housing prices increased by 6.4%.

Housing prices have been slowing down in Croatia since the end of 2019, when they had jumped by 10%.

In Q1 this year, housing prices fell only in Cyprus (-5.8% y-o-y).