Budapest rental prices rose drastically in just one year

An international survey found that the rental price of a one-bedroom flat in Budapest almost reaches the price of their counterparts in Brussels or Vienna. Though that research might be misleading because of the small element number, real estate experts highlighted that despite the economic crisis hitting Hungary, rental prices rose significantly.

According to index.hu, László Balogh, the economic analyst of ingatlan.com, the most popular Hungarian real estate search website, the price growth is around 10% concerning Budapest flats with one or two bedrooms. That is because the record-high Hungarian inflation made it impossible for most people to buy property. As a result, many of them remained in their rent, which continued to boost rental prices.

Last September, the median rental price of a Budapest flat with two bedrooms was below HUF 200,000 (EUR 510). This year, the average sum grew to HUF 220,000 (EUR 521). That means 1/3rd of a household’s income calculating with two employees getting an average salary. Concerning one-bedroom flats, the median rental price grew from HUF 150,000 to HUF 167,000 (EUR 435). Concerning utilities, that sum is half the income of an average employee working in the Hungarian capital. Meanwhile, real wages have been decreasing for the tenth month in Hungary.

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Budapest rental prices as high as in Brussels, Vienna?

Based on the latest survey of Housing Anywhere, an online rental platform, a one-bedroom Budapest flat’s rental price increased by 43% in just one year. The research found that you can rent a similar property in Budapest for EUR 1,100. That preceded North Italian Turin and reached Brussels (EUR 1,120) and Vienna (EUR 1,181). However, Mr Balogh believes the survey included only premium Budapest flats because the average is much below that price.

Housing Anywhere measured 125 Budapest flats but did not share any details about them. But if they are in the premium category in Vienna or Brussels, that would be quite telling about the Hungarian rental sector. They found that one-bedroom flats are the most expensive in Lisbon (EUR 2,500), Amsterdam (EUR 2,300) and Utrecht (EUR 1,950).

Mr Balogh said one should measure such prices by comparing them with the average net income. In that respect, Lisbon is extremely expensive. That is why CNN wrote about the start of a Portuguese housing crisis in August. Housing is a serious problem everywhere in Europe and concerns young employees and students.

We wrote about the fundamental change in the Hungarian e-commerce sector concerning even ingatlan.com in THIS article.