Styria expects more non-profit rental homes in 2027

Completions of non-profit rental homes in Styria are forecast to rise from 710 this year to 1,067 in 2027, ORF Steiermark reports. Overall, the region’s housing construction has recovered in 2026 but remains well below its long-term average.

A total of 3,420 homes were completed this year, 30 percent fewer than the average since 2019. The forecast for 2027 is 3,500 units.

Construction is concentrated around Graz. Over the past two years, 172 projects with about 5,500 homes were recorded in the Styrian capital, while 54 developer projects entered the market in the greater Graz area in the past 12 months.

By contrast, only one developer project was put out to tender in each of the districts of Murau and Voitsberg, said Andreas Kern, head of the real estate and asset trustees’ group at the Styrian Economic Chamber. Balancing urban and rural living remains a major challenge, he said.

Commercial rental housing completions are expected to fall from 892 in 2026 to 202 in 2027. Commercial developers nevertheless account for the largest share of new construction: 74 percent of projects in Graz and 69 percent across Styria. Christian Krainer, head of the Association of Non-Profit Building, Housing and Settlement Associations, said both commercial and non-profit developers were needed to provide enough housing.

Outdoor space is common in new homes, with 98 percent having a balcony, terrace, garden or loggia. These areas average 13.7 square metres. Balconies are included in 60 percent of homes, terraces in 42 percent, gardens in 29 percent and loggias in 12 percent.

The average number of car parking spaces per home has fallen to one, from 1.48 last year. Kern said the housing on offer would be considered “absolute luxury” in 95 percent of other countries in the world.