Housing / political economy
Building activity is not housing availability
A country can build and still deepen shortage pressure.
completed dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants. High activity, not a solved-shortage verdict.
- + historical backlog
- + new households
- + replacement need
- − effective new supply
Eurostat reported very low unemployment; Deloitte reports 15.0 gross annual wages for a 70 m² new dwelling in Prague.
The visual separates annual completions from the housing deficit equation: backlog plus new households plus replacement need, minus effective new supply. Ireland’s 5.62 completions per 1,000 inhabitants is activity, not proof that shortage is solved.
The equation is a diagnostic frame, not a country ranking or an EU-wide deficit estimate. It does not prove that more supply alone is sufficient; location, affordability, usable stock and household formation must be measured.
Source and status. Author-supplied Europe housing crisis infographic, received 1 October 2026; Deloitte Property Index 2025, European Commission affordable-housing materials, OECD housing-supply responsiveness paper and Eurostat July 2026 release. Visual version 1, 1 October 2026.