Housing prices in Latvia rise faster than EU average, but slower than Karosta sinks into the ground

Eurostat has published yet another statistic proving that in Latvia, everything is always more complicated than elsewhere in Europe. Our housing prices have grown faster than the EU average, but not as dramatically as in Hungary or Portugal. This means we're somewhere in the middle between "normal" and "complete catastrophe."

Prices rose fastest in Hungary at 21.2 percent, which makes you wonder - are houses there already made of gold? By comparison, prices in Lithuania increased by 10.8 percent, meaning our neighbors are ahead of us again. Only Estonia with its 5.5 percent is living more quietly, but they've always been weird anyway.

"We've known for a long time that prices are rising," says a Liepāja resident who wishes to remain anonymous. "But at least in our city it's not as bad as in Riga. There you pay for one room what you'd pay here for a whole house. Plus we have Karosta with its mythical basements - if prices get too high, you can always move there."

The only country where housing prices decreased is Finland with minus 3.1 percent. Perhaps they simply realized you shouldn't pay a million for the privilege of freezing in winter. But such wisdom isn't destined for us, of course - we continue paying more and more for the same joy of living in a country where it rains nine months a year.