Kaunas City Guide

Lithuania's second city and interwar former capital, Kaunas recorded the fastest property-price growth in the country in 2025, with average apartment prices rising 13.8% to about EUR 2,071 per square metre, the largest annual change of any Lithuanian city. The market is driven by a structural shortage of high-quality new housing in convenient locations, with completions falling for two consecutive years while demand from international-company employees, students, and public-sector workers keeps central districts tight. Typical older apartments range EUR 1,400-2,400 per square metre, leaving Kaunas materially cheaper than the capital Vilnius. Kaunas also delivers some of Lithuania's strongest yields, averaging around 5.8%, with studios and older stock reaching 6-7%; rents jumped roughly 13% in 2025, outpacing price growth and improving the income case. The Naujamiestis (New Town) modernist core, a UNESCO World Heritage site, along with Zaliakalnis, Centras, and Senamiestis (Old Town) form the prime zones. A NATO build-up that will base thousands of German troops near Vilnius and Kaunas through 2025-2026 adds incremental family-rental demand. With a population near 298,000 and Eurozone, EU, and NATO membership, Kaunas enters 2026 as Lithuania's standout value-and-yield market.