Analytics, Baltic, Financial Services, Real Estate

The HAI decreased to 151.9 in Tallinn, but increased to 185.5 in Riga.

"Housing market activity, excluding seasonal factors, did not abate at the start of this year. With mortgage interest rates at their historical lows, apartments remain more affordable than they were several years ago. Also, wage growth covers an increasing number of sectors," said Swedbank Lithuania's chief economist, Vaiva Seckute.

"These factors will continue to be the key drivers of housing demand," Seckute said.

As apartment price grwoth continued to outpace wage growth, the HAI in the country's major cities decreased for the second quarter in a row, she noted, however.

According to the latest data, the HAI stood at 128.8 in Vilnius, 222.4 in Kaunas and 191.5 in Klaipeda in the fourth quarter of 2016. The higher the number, the greater affordability.