New Study Shows Increase in Private Rental Listings on Austrian Portals Following Law Change

The percentage of rental adverts on Austrian real estate portals listed without an agent shot up from 14.5% to 33% in the wake of new legislation.

The so-called bestellerprinzip law introduced in July 2023 forced landlords to pay agency fees rather than prospective tenants. A study released by Zurich-based real estate performance data specialist PriceHubble showed that private rentals went from 14.5% of portal listings before the legislation's announcement, to 22% when the law was announced and then to 33% once it came into effect.

Christian Steinke, Chief Sales Officer Central Europe at PriceHubble, explains the effects: “With the increase in more than twice as many privately advertised properties, our study shows that the ordering principle appears to have significantly influenced the behavior of market participants. Since then, landlords have increasingly tried to market the house or apartment without brokerage services.”

The Austrian legislation follows a similar measure enacted in the Spanish market in 2023 and Germany in 2015. Interestingly the study notes that after an initial increase in privately handled rental listings in Austria's neighbouring market, landlords are increasingly choosing to use rental agents' services again.

PriceHubble did not name the real estate marketplaces it looked at for the study. Unlike portals in many other European markets, all major Austrian portals (Willhaben, ImmoScout24 and Immowelt) do accept private rental and FSBO listings.