House prices in the EU surged at the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2007, rising 7.3% year-on-year in the April to June period, according to data released on Thursday.

“Rents and house prices in the EU have continued their steady increase in the second quarter of 2021, going up by 1.3% and 7.3% respectively, compared to the second quarter of 2020,” Eurostat said.

House prices, as measured by the House Price Index, climbed 6.8% in the euro area during the same period, the highest annual increase since the fourth quarter of 2006, it added.

Compared to the previous quarter, house prices increased 2.6% in the Eurozone and 2.7% in the EU27 from April to June.

Rents were up by 16% and house prices by 34% since 2010, according to Eurostat.

Among the bloc’s members for which data is available, 11 posted an annual surge of more than 10% in house prices in the second quarter of this year, the report said.

The highest annual increases were seen in Estonia (16.1%), Denmark (15.6%) and the Czech Republic (14.5%).

On a quarterly basis, prices rose in all member states, with the highest increases registered in Latvia (6.7%), Slovenia (4.5%), and Austria (4.2%), Eurostat said.​​​​​​​/aa