Buying a house in Vienna and the surrounding area: what does it cost, and what do you need to check?

The essentials in brief

• Residential houses 2025, median per m² of living space: Vienna €5,376 (−1.6%), Lower Austria €2,653 (+5.0%), Austria €2,836 (Statistik Austria).
• Building plots 2025: Vienna around €799 per m² of land, Lower Austria around €116 (Statistik Austria).
• In Vienna many houses stand on a building lease or on leased allotment-garden land — in that case you buy the house, but not the land.
• Zoning (Flächenwidmung) and the development plan (Bebauungsplan) decide whether you may extend or convert.
• Extensions, a pool or a conservatory without a building permit are a risk for the buyer and the bank.
• Incidental costs as with any purchase: around 10% of the purchase price, with a loan around 11%.

What does a house cost in Vienna and the surrounding area?

In 2025 a residential house in Vienna cost a median of €5,376 per square metre of living space — more than a flat (€5,212). In Lower Austria the median was €2,653. The difference explains why many Viennese families move out to the surrounding area.

With houses, prices vary even more widely than with flats: plot size, condition, year of construction, heating system and above all the legal situation (ownership, building lease, allotment garden) are decisive. That is why we deliberately do not give an average price per district.

Where are there houses in Vienna?

In Vienna, houses are found mainly in the outer districts: in Floridsdorf and Donaustadt north of the Danube, in Liesing, Hietzing and Penzing in the west and south, and in the villa areas of Döbling and Währing. In the districts inside the Gürtel, detached houses are the exception.

Ownership, building lease or allotment garden?

Before you talk about the price, clarify what you are actually buying. Three forms are common in Vienna:

What do you need to check before buying?

With houses, the legal situation decides the value more often than the fittings. These points belong before the binding offer:

• Zoning and development plan: What construction is permitted, are there reserves for extension or restrictions?
• Building permits: Are all extensions, garages, the pool and the conservatory approved? Missing permits can lead to a demolition order and make financing harder.
• Land register: Liens, rights of way, utility easements, rights of pre-emption.
• Structural condition: Roof, damp in the cellar, windows, electrics, sewer connection, age of the heating — with older houses a building surveyor is worthwhile.
• Energieausweis (energy performance certificate): Heating demand and energy efficiency class; it must be presented before your binding offer.
• If you buy as a third-country national, you need approval depending on the federal state — in Vienna under the Viennese, in Lower Austria under the Lower Austrian land transfer law. Details in the guide Buying property as a foreigner.

Your house in 6 steps

1. Clarify budget and financing. Own funds, credit line, incidental costs of around 10% — see Property financing.
2. Decide on location and form. Vienna or the surrounding area, ownership or a building lease as well.
3. View and request documents. Land register, plans, permits, Energieausweis.
4. Have it checked. Zoning, permits, a building surveyor if needed.
5. Purchase offer (Kaufanbot). Price, handover, conditions such as financing or approval.
6. Purchase contract, escrow, land register. Notary or lawyer, payment via an escrow account, entry in the land register.