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PROPERTY

Property in Austria: A roundup of the latest news and info

Stay up-to-date on the latest Austrian property news with The Local's weekly roundup.

Published: 2 September 2021 16:36 CEST
Austria property

Thinking of buying a house, moving house, investing or just curious about the property market in Austria? 

Here’s our weekly property wrap. 

Tyrol is six times more expensive than the east of Austria

A new study by Immowelt has revealed the Kitzbühel district in Tyrol is the most expensive region for property in Austria.

The average price for one square meter in the alpine district is €8,050 – six times more than the average price in the east of the country.

The report states: “This is due to numerous luxury apartments in the popular ski resorts: Chalets in Kirchberg or penthouse apartments in Kitzbühel for several million Euros are not uncommon on the market. 

“This offer is aimed more at well-heeled investors. There are hardly any affordable apartments or houses to buy yourself.”

READ MORE: Five common apartment scams in Austria

Kitzbühel recently recorded the highest property sale for an apartment or house in Austria. In the second quarter of 2021, a single-family house sold for €10.3 million. 

The next expensive spot for property is the city of Innsbruck (also in Tyrol) at €6,560 per square meter, followed by €5,860 in Salzburg city and €5,160 in Hallein in Salzburg.

However, in Salzburg city most properties are not purchased to live in but to rent out to tourists.

Vienna was listed at the eighth most expensive place in Austria for property with the average price per square meter at €4,880.

There is also lots of construction taking place in Vienna to keep up with a growing population and high demand for residential property.

Lower Austria and Burgenland are the cheapest places for property 

The Immowelt study revealed Lilienfeld in Lower Austria and Jennersdorf in Burgenland as the cheapest places to buy property.

The average price per square meter in Lilienfeld is €1,370 and in Jennersdorf it is €1,380.

FOR MEMBERS: Everything that changes in Austria in September 2021

According to Immowelt: “One of the reasons for this is that the number of residents in Lilienfeld is declining and the demand for living space is therefore not as great as in the flourishing western districts. 

“Instead of new buildings, the market is determined by cheaper existing properties.”

Warnings of a real estate bubble

The Empirica Research Institute is warning of a real estate bubble across Europe.

Handelsblatt reports that as soon as interest rates rise, rent prices will also have to go up.

Reiner Braun, CEO of the Empirica Research Institute, said: “Of course we have a real estate bubble.”

READ ALSO: Water, sewage and garbage costs to increase in Vienna next year

Annika Winsth, chief economist at Nordic bank Nordea, has also issued a warning of overheating in the European property market.

This comes as the Remax broker network recorded 76,589 property transactions in Austria in the first half of 2021. 

The total value of sales was €19.6 billion – 20 percent more than in 2020.

The real estate market in Vorarlberg is booming

From January to June of this year, €1.24 million worth of real estate transactions were carried out in Vorarlberg – an increase of 15 percent on the previous year.

Bregenz, Dornbirn and Feldkirch are the districts with the highest growth in property transactions in the province.

In an article on Vorarlberg Online, Bernhard Reikersdorfer, Managing Director of Remax Austria, said many people are purchasing property in Vorarlberg as an investment or as an additional pension provision.

Did you know?

The most expensive real estate sales in Austria in the first half of 2021 were in Vienna.

An office building complex in the 12th District sold for €120 million, followed by an apartment building in the 1st District for €44 million.

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RESIDENCY PERMITS

EXPLAINED: What rights do I have if I’m married to an Austrian citizen?

If you’re a non-EU foreigner married to an Austrian citizen, some of the bureaucracy that comes with living in Austria is just a little bit easier than it would be otherwise – on everything from residency to buying property.

Published: 7 November 2023 12:38 CET
Updated: 3 April 2024 14:02 CEST
EXPLAINED: What rights do I have if I'm married to an Austrian citizen?

Plenty of foreigners move to Austria for love – and hopefully, that love is strong enough to stand the test of not only time – but Austrian bureaucracy.

Even though marriage to an Austrian makes some residence, citizenship, and property buying rules a little easier – there’s still plenty of caveats to be aware of, so it’s best to know exactly what your rights are.

Will Austria recognise my marriage or partnership?

If you and your Austrian partner were married in Austria, this question is pretty straightforward. Your Austrian marriage licence will provide pretty airtight proof of your commitment for the purposes of things like residency.

If you were married abroad though, you may need to bring your foreign marriage certificate to your local authority to be recognised. You will probably also have to provide a certified translation if it’s in a language other than English or German.

Registered partnerships are also recognised under Austrian law for the purposes of family reunification as well as marriage certificates.

Austria also recognises both registered partnerships and marriages between same-sex partners.

EXPLAINED: How to have your marriage abroad recognised in Austria

Residency in Austria

Non-EU partners of Austrian or EU citizens can typically apply for a “Family Member” visa or residence permit to both enter and reside in Austria – provided they have reached the age of 21.

If the non-EU partner has a passport from a country whose nationals enjoy visa-free access to Austria, they can come to Austria without a visa and apply for the residence permit within three months. Otherwise, they’ll need to apply for a Family Visa from their responsible Austrian mission abroad.

The Family Member residence permit is typically valid for 12 months and thus requires regular renewal.

However, it generally comes with unrestricted access to the Austrian labour market. This includes the right to work in Austria without satisfying a labour market test, having to meet a minimum salary threshold, and without having to fulfill a requisite number of criteria under Austria’s points-based immigration system. Holders of this permit are also not limited to working in the area of their education or training, as holders of many other Austrian residence permits are.

Austria recognises registered partnerships and marriages performed abroad, including those between same-sex spouses, for the purpose of family reunification.
Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP

EXPLAINED: How to get married in Austria as a foreigner

Under this permit though, non-EU spouses still have a few things to prove. They’ll have to prove that they and their partner have a monthly income of at least €1,751.56, plus an additional €171.31 for each child they have. They’ll also have to prove that they have accommodation in Austria that’s large enough for their family and have health insurance. Typically though, non-EU spouses can often be easily covered under their Austrian or EU partner’s insurance.

They will also have to prove that they have German language skills at an A1 level – which is the lowest possible level of proficiency in German.

The non-EU spouse will need to provide proof of all these requirements, along with their valid passport, their partner’s passport or other valid proof of nationality, and their marriage certificate.

After five years of continuous residence in Austria, the non-EU spouse can apply for permanent residence in Austria. Once they have permanent residence, a divorce will not affect their eligibility to remain in Austria. However, a non-EU spouse who divorces their Austrian partner may have to leave Austria if they are on the Family Member residence permit. This isn’t always true though. A non-EU partner who divorces their Austrian or EU partner due to abuse may end up being granted the right to stay in Austria.

Divorce in Austria: How the ‘culpability principle’ works and what you need to know about it

Automatic dual citizenship for your kids

If you are married to an Austrian national, any kids you have with them will automatically be entitled to keep both their Austrian passport, plus yours.

Although Austrian nationality law is generally restrictive on dual citizenship, one of the few cases where it is allowed concerns children who are born to both an Austrian and a foreign parent.

Although dual nationality is restricted in Austria, marriage between an Austrian and a foreigner can often result in children having dual citizenship. (Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash)

Austrian fathers who have children out of wedlock with foreign mothers will typically have to legally acknowledge their children within two months of their birth in order to pass on citizenship. If the couple is married though, an Austrian father will automatically pass on his citizenship to his child without this step.

EXPLAINED: When is dual citizenship allowed in Austria?

Austrian citizenship through marriage

You cannot simply become Austrian by marrying an Austrian citizen.

In fact, you will still have to fulfill the requirements that any other applicant for Austrian citizenship would have to fulfill in order to receive an Austrian passport. This includes B1 German language skills and giving up your previous passport in most cases.

There is one edge non-EU nationals married to Austrians get though – they can apply for Austrian citizenship after a shorter period of residence in Austria.

Although most foreigners aren’t eligible to apply for Austrian citizenship until they’ve been resident in Austria for at least ten years, non-EU nationals married to Austrians can apply after six years – provided they’ve been married for at least five of those previous six years.

If you take the shorter route though, your German will have to be a bit better than the B1 normally expected. You’ll instead have to pass B2 German – one language level higher than normal.

READ ALSO: Five surprising Austrian citizenship rules you should know about

Buying property in Vienna

Foreigners buying property in Austria face a load of hurdles in most cases.

In western states like Tyrol and Vorarlberg, only Austrian and other EU/EEA nationals can buy property. In most of the rest of the country, only foreigners holding permanent residence may buy. Even then, they’ll need to seek approval from their state’s real estate commission – a process that can take many months and deter some sellers from working with foreign buyers.

Styria puts no such restrictions on foreigners. Vienna does, but waives them in once key instance – when the buyers are a married couple where at least one in Austrian.

In these cases, the couple buying property in Vienna don’t need to seek real estate commission approval for the purchase.

READ ALSO: Can foreigners buy property in Austria?

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