Property business expert Remax said, houses in Tyrol were most expensive for the first time. The agency’s analysis shows that people forked out 315 500 euros on average for a house in the alpine province last year, around 5 000 euros more than the purchasers of houses in Vienna. Houses in the capital used to be most pricey on average.
Salzburg follows in third place (219 700 euros) while Burgenland was identified as the cheapest of Austria’s nine provinces for family homes. The ownership of real estate of this kind shifted for 87 600 euros on average in the eastern region in 2011. The Austrian average was 165 300 euros, according to Remax.
Austrians paid 138 700 euros on average for the acquisition of an apartment last year, 6,7% more than in 2010. Vienna recorded an increase of 9,2% to more than 151 000 euros. Experts said there was strong demand for houses and flats in the center of industrialized areas while the interest to settle in the countryside was waning. These developments strongly influence property market prices.
Johannes Meran, who heads the administration board of Viennese property developer Conwert Immobilien Invest AG (Conwert), recently said he expected the price for owner-occupied apartments in the capital city to rise further. «Increases of five to 10 per cent are possible», – Meran said in a recent interview, adding that he saw no indicators for a contrary development.
Austria’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by four per cent between 2007 and 2012. It could achieve a growth of 12% overall by 2016, according to experts.
Meanwhile, the Viennese Social Democrats (SPÖ) presented a housing concept which should lower the financial and bureaucratic burdens for singles and young families on a low income. Viennese SPÖ Housing Councillor Michael Ludwig, said that around 2 000 «smart flats» of a size of approximately 40 sq. m. would be constructed in 2012 and 2013.
Ludwig claimed that the apartments’ future residents would not have to pay more than 300 Euros a month for rent and bills. "Smart flat" housing projects are planned for several of the city’s 23 districts, according to the SPÖ’s Viennese department.
Source: http://austrianindependent.com/news/Business/2012-03-20/10623/Tyrol_house_prices_overtake_Vienna