Residential property prices in Austria rose by 4.7 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2017. Price growth for the year as a whole was 3.8 per cent. Property prices in Austria have risen by an average of 39 per cent since 2010, according to the ImmoDEX real estate report. New homes are the most expensive in the capital of Austria, Vienna, where a 123 m2 apartment or house costs around EUR 471 000 – an increase of 22 per cent since 2010. Rental prices for new properties have risen steeply, by 21 per cent, with average costs now EUR 11.50 per square metre. In Vienna, council-owned properties, where rents tend to be cheaper and only rise according to inflation, are in high demand. Wiener Wohnen, the municipal department that manages the public buildings in Vienna, says it currently has 13 100 people on its waiting list, that is people who have registered their interest in renting a council flat. The fact that property prices are increasing should be cause for alarm. According to a recent study, the total population of Vienna will increase by 289 000 (+15.5%) during the period 2018–2048.

The corresponding number of residents with a primary residence in the city will amount to 2 178 000 on 1 January 2018. Since 2007, the number of residents of Vienna has grown by twelve per cent, from 1 661 246 to 1 867 582 in 2016. The population is expected to increase by over 2 million by 2029. More than one third of all new migrants who come to Austria from abroad each year move to Vienna. Most of them come from other European countries. The city is about to face a housing shortage that will impact young people and students in particular. The demand for affordable one- or two-bedroom apartments is high. WGE! is a social start-up that is supported by the City of Vienna. It uses existing housing to provide affordable housing options for young people.