Hungary’s housing market sees revival with rising prices and mortgage demand, central bank reports
Demand in the Hungarian housing market is “lively” and could increase further in 2025, although home purchases for investment will dominate, Sándor Winkler, a department head at the National Bank of Hungary (NBH), said presenting the central bank’s latest report on the market on Wednesday.
Winkler said the market would be supported by favourable macroeconomic fundamentals, such as high employment, double-digit wage growth and higher real wages, contributing to an improvement in consumer confidence. Delayed purchases, following very low transaction numbers in 2023, could also drive up demand, he added.
He noted that home sales had climbed 16pc year-on-year in the third quarter, with the number in the capital jumping 31pc. Housing prices are estimated to have risen 13pc nationwide and close to 15pc in Budapest in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier, he added.
Overvaluation in the home market fell to 11.2pc in Q2 2024 from 23pc in the base period, mainly as the result of the decline in home construction and the effect on demand of lower borrowing rates, Winkler said. Between January and August, outlays of home loans rose almost 150pc, while contract numbers climbed close to 50pc, he added.
The average mortgage contract for resale homes reached HUF 18.5m in August, up from HUF 13m in 2023.
Borrowers with children who applied for CSOK Plus home purchase subsidies took out around 7,400 loans.
The NBH projects home completions of around 16,000 in 2024 and a “very moderate increase” in 2025, Winkler said.
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