New Hungarian real estate trend: Slowly shifting to euro pricing?

The Hungarian real estate market is increasingly embracing euro pricing, especially for high-value properties in prime areas like Budapest’s city centre. As the forint weakens, sellers and investors are turning to the euro for stability in transactions.

A growing preference towards euro

As Pénzcentrum reports, The rise of euro-based property ads in Hungarian real estate has been linked to the forint’s weakening exchange rate. Experts, including Zsuzsa Lipták of zenga.hu, note that sellers increasingly favour euro-paying buyers, even when prices are set in forints, particularly in high-value areas like Budapest’s city centre and the Buda Hills. Some developers are now pricing properties exclusively in euros, a trend also seen in sectors like car sales. While the euro isn’t the country’s official currency, its growing use in Hungarian real estate reflects the challenges posed by the forint’s instability.

Pricing properties in euros

In the Hungarian real estate market, the trend of pricing properties in euros is becoming more prominent, particularly for high-value and luxury properties. According to Ferenc Máté, Deputy CEO of Duna House, 3% of current property listings are advertised in euros, with most over EUR 100,000. Due to the forint’s instability, sellers are increasingly favouring buyers willing to pay in euros, even if the original price is set in forints.

While euro-based rentals are more common for luxury apartments in prime areas, such as Budapest’s city centre and Buda Hills, they are less frequent in the wider rental market. This shift highlights the growing preference for the stability of the euro. However, experts suggest it remains more typical for high-end properties, with standard apartments still predominantly priced in forints. The trend also reflects changes in buyer behaviour, with foreign buyers and those in the western regions of Hungary more likely to encounter euro-based transactions.