ERA Rental Market Report predicts steady growth in Europe

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The rental market in Europe is beginning to normalise and is set to see steady growth in the coming years, according to a market report published by the European Rental Association (ERA).

In its 2024 ERA Market Report, which is being made available to its members for free, the association said the European rental market is projected to grow by 0.9% in 2024, 2.8% in 2025, and 3.6% in 2026.

While it described growth as steady, it warned that interest rates and ‎general uncertainty are directly affecting the residential segment across EU nations.

However, it added that planned EU investment via the ‎National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is predicted to boost rental activity in Europe.‎ 

The ERA said, “The European rental market has experienced a steady increase in its rental penetration rate over the past years, reflecting the growing preference of customers to rent rather than buy equipment and tools.

“Renting offers access to modern equipment, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, as it reduces capital expenditure requirements, fixed costs of ownership, and residual value risk while allowing customers to adapt to changing demand and project requirements.”

The report is compliled using Nomenclature of Economic Activities (NACE) data on annual turnover published in the two years prior from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. 

Forecasts of economic and construction activities in the report are taken from the European Commission (including the European Construction Sector Observatory – ECSO – and the Building Stock Observatory – BSO), European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC), Euroconstruct, S&P Global and KPMG proprietary data.

As well as ERA members, the ERA Market Report is available to rental company members of associations that are a member of ERA. Non-members can access the report for a fee of €1,200.