Breakthrough proposal: Hungarian construction experts reveal solution to housing crisis
Construction industry association ÉVOSZ (ÉpÃtési Vállalkozók Országos Szakszövetsége) chairman László Koji said 12,000 new homes could be handed over in 2025, while around 200,000 could undergo renovation, in a comment after the Central Statistics Office (KSH) released residential construction and permit data on Tuesday. The solution to the housing crisis:
As we wrote today, Hungary’s new home construction falls while permits surge, read details HERE.
Housing crisis in Hungary
Koji said contractors sensed a “positive shift” after the home construction and renovation markets bottomed out, but added that government measures to support home purchases and upgrades would show up only in 2026 data.
ÉVOSZ said it was drafting proposals as a member of the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) on protecting local businesses at European Union level from building materials and general contracting capacity from non-EU countries.
ÉVOSZ also proposed the government broaden a scheme supporting home renovations in smaller settlements and pressed for the re-launch of the central bank’s Green Home Programme.
According to MTI, the association recommended starting a city quarter rehabilitation programme to undertake energy efficiency upgrades and introducing support for nonprofit home construction. It urged the launch of a long-term programme for renovating old pre-fabricated concrete blocks of flats and pushed for a five-year exemption from the building tax for new residential property. ÉVOSZ proposed launching a municipal council rental home programme and recommended the government keep the 5pc VAT rate on new home builds in place through 2030.
The association pointed to the need for regulatory measures supporting pre-fab and modular homes and proposed that residential property investments with over 500 homes get priority designation.
read also: Here’s why Budapest real estate remains a bargain by European standards
Read here for more exciting news about real estate in Hungary
UPDATE
Minister warns against risk of unaffordable homes
Tibor Navracsics, the minister for public administration and regional development, warned in a video message on social media on Tuesday that higher property prices in some locations could put homes out of reach of career-starters or average earners.
Navracsics suggested that unaffordable housing, not the impact on property values of legislation to protect local identity, was reason for concern. At current prices, he said an average earner had to put aside 30pc of monthly income for 20-30 years to buy a 50sqm flat in a big city. He added that high property prices took away opportunity for “social renewal and the next generation of career-starters”. Equipping communities with the option for legal protection was “well worth it”, he said.
He urged communities to pay no heed to “property investors who only want to see a return” as the ultimate goal of the home market should be to match everyone with a home that suits their needs. He noted that property prices in Hungary had climbed 230pc since 2010, well over the 54pc average increase in the European Union during the period.