Buying a flat in Budapest for less than HUF 50 million has become almost impossible, according to the latest analysis sent to MTI by Hungarian property portal Ingatlan.com. The study highlights how dramatically housing prices have risen across Hungary over the past five years, particularly in the capital and larger regional cities.

Entry-level homes now start at around HUF 50 million in the capital

Data based on more than 95,000 second-hand flats currently on the property market show that even the cheapest homes in Budapest have seen extraordinary price inflation since 2021. Back then, buyers could still enter the housing market with around HUF 25 million (around EUR 70,300), but today properties below HUF 50 million (EUR 140,600) are extremely rare.

The increase has been especially striking in several districts of Budapest. In the city’s 4th district, the price of the cheapest flats climbed from HUF 20 million (EUR 56,250) to HUF 47 million (EUR 132,200) over the past five years. In the 9th district, the entry price rose from HUF 28 million (EUR 78,800) to nearly HUF 57 million (EUR 160,350).

According to Ingatlan.com’s leading economic analyst, László Balogh, the psychological threshold for “cheap” flats in Budapest now stands at around HUF 54 million (EUR 151,900). Roughly 90% of flats currently listed in the capital cost more than this amount, writes 444.

First-time buyers under growing pressure

The rapid rise in prices has created serious difficulties for first-time buyers, who now require significantly larger deposits and mortgages to purchase homes of a similar size or location compared with just a few years ago.

Median property prices have also surged. In 2021, the median asking price for flats in Budapest stood at HUF 46.5 million (EUR 130,800). Today, that figure has reached HUF 89.9 million (EUR 252,900), meaning an average flat purchase in the Hungarian capital is now approaching the HUF 100 million (EUR 281,300) mark — a price category once considered luxury real estate a decade ago.

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You can’t escape to the countryside either

Outside Budapest, the situation is similar in major cities such as Debrecen, where flats under HUF 50 million have also practically disappeared. Five years ago, buyers could still find homes there for around HUF 21 million (EUR 59,100). At the opposite end of the market, Salgótarján remains Hungary’s cheapest county seat, with entry-level property available from around HUF 11 million (EUR 30,950).

Balogh noted that the rapid period of price growth appears to be slowing after 2025, partly because many buyers have reached the limits of their financial capacity. As a result, experts do not expect another dramatic jump even in the prices of the cheapest homes.

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