New data has shown a 31% increase in young British people (aged 18-24) looking for overseas property in Europe in the last three months of 2022 vs the same period in 2021, as the cost of living crisis in the UK, combined with growing unaffordability of UK housing appears to be prompting more young people to think about moving overseas.

The new data, released by property portal Kyero.com, which has over 750,000 properties listed for sale in Europe, suggests that growing numbers of young people are considering a move to Europe as countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Portugal become increasingly attractive financial alternatives to the UK.

The average cost of property in the UK is £294,000 according to the December 2022 house price Index, while the average cost of a property in December 2022 in Spain was €120,000, in Portugal €69,500, France €102,000, and Italy €65,000 on Kyero.com.

Unlike property in the UK which rose from £275,000 in December 2021 – a 7.6% annual increase – in Europe property prices on Kyero.com fell last year. Average property prices fell 6% in Spain, 21% in Portugal and 34% in Italy between December 2021 and December 2022. In France they increased by 2%.

Martin Dell, Co-Founder of Kyero.com says: “Amid rising property and living costs in the UK, Europe is becoming an increasingly viable option for many people, especially younger generations. Indeed, many European countries are keen to entice young people to their shores with attractive visas appealing to remote workers, such as those recently launched in Spain and Italy and available in Portugal.

“As well as cheaper property costs, living costs can also be more affordable in other countries. With more remote working now the norm, a move to Spain, Portugal, France or Italy is now an option for many more people in the UK.” 

According to data from Eurostat, even before the cost of living crisis, the average cost in the UK for housing, water, electricity and other fuels was 68% higher than the average for the rest of Europe. This is significantly higher than average cost of living in France (21% above the average costs), Italy (1.6% below the average costs in Europe) and Portugal (9% lower than the rest of Europe) and Spain (1.5% higher than the average costs across Europe).