Hungary’s housing market is showing clear signs of cooling, with property price growth slowing nationwide and rents recording their sharpest monthly decline in almost six years, according to the latest figures published by property portal ingatlan.com.
Price growth close to stopping
In October, residential property prices rose by just 0.2 per cent month on month across Hungary, while prices in Budapest remained virtually unchanged. Annual price growth slowed from 8.2 per cent in September to 6.9 per cent nationally, its lowest rate in more than two years. In the capital, annual growth fell to 1.8 per cent, the weakest increase since December 2023.
László Balogh, chief economic expert for ingatlan.com, said the previous upward trend had lost momentum, particularly in Budapest, where prices had not increased for three consecutive months. The median asking price per square metre for second-hand homes in the capital was around the same as a year earlier.
Wide differences across Budapest
At the beginning of November, the median asking price for second-hand homes in Budapest stood at HUF 1.4 million (EUR 3,830) per square metre. The most expensive district was the fifth, at almost HUF 2 million, followed by the first at HUF 1.9 million (EUR 5,200) and the twelfth at HUF 1.74 million (EUR 4,760). The cheapest was the twenty-third district, where the median was HUF 940,000 (EUR 2,575).
New-build properties remained considerably more expensive, with a median of HUF 1.72 million (EUR 4,710) per square metre, 4.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. The supply of newly built homes advertised in Budapest increased by 52 per cent year on year.
Outside the capital, second-hand property prices varied significantly. Among county seats with the largest housing markets, Debrecen recorded a median of HUF 1.02 million (EUR 2,790) per square metre, followed by Szeged at HUF 960,000 (EUR 2,630) and Győr at HUF 950,000 (EUR 2,600).
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Rents fall despite shrinking supply
The rental market also weakened in October. According to the joint rent index compiled by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and ingatlan.com, rents fell by 1.1 per cent nationally and 1.3 per cent in Budapest compared with September. Similar monthly declines had not been recorded since December 2020.
Despite the fall, rents remained higher than a year earlier, with annual growth slowing to 5.5 per cent nationwide and 5 per cent in the capital.
The median advertised monthly rent in Budapest was HUF 255,000 (EUR 698) at the beginning of November, down from HUF 260,000 (EUR 711) a year earlier. The second district was the most expensive, at HUF 364,000 (EUR 996), while the twenty-third was the cheapest, at HUF 160,000 (EUR 438). Across county seats, the median rent was HUF 185,000 (EUR 506).
There is less property available
The number of available rental properties has also declined. Budapest had 9,331 advertised homes at the beginning of November, 9.4 per cent fewer than a year earlier. In county seats, supply was down 16.9 per cent year on year.
Balogh attributed the softer rental market partly to weaker returns on property investments and tenants’ limited purchasing power. Government-backed home-buying loans may also have encouraged some renters to purchase their own homes, easing rental demand.
Read also: Budapest housing prices stall as Hungary’s property market loses momentum
