Do you know where Hungary’s cheapest street is? Houses here can still sell for just a few thousand euros
While buying a home has become increasingly out of reach across much of Hungary, there is one street where property prices seem to belong to a different era altogether. In 2025, Szabadság Street in Kevermes, a village in Békés County, was officially named the cheapest residential street in the country. Here, the average price per square metre is just HUF 13,000 (EUR 34), meaning an entire house can change hands for as little as HUF 1–2 million (EUR 2,600–5,200).
A 500-fold gap in property prices
According to an analysis by Ingatlan.com, there is now a 514-fold difference between the prices of the most expensive and the cheapest public streets in Hungary. While luxury flats in Bárczy István Street in Budapest’s 5th District sold this year for around HUF 6.7 million (EUR 17,300) per square metre, the price of a single square metre in Kevermes would barely buy you the space of 4 dice rolls in the heart of the capital.
Statistics show that Hungary’s cheapest streets are almost always found in small rural settlements, where housing demand is weak, the population is shrinking, and job opportunities are scarce. Even so, Kevermes has surpassed all previous record holders, offering lower prices than earlier frontrunners such as Kiskunlacháza or the Somogy County village of Nágocs.
A street that resembles a ghost village
Blikk visited Hungary’s cheapest street in person. Szabadság Street runs along the edge of Kevermes and is lined with long rows of old, mostly dilapidated peasant houses. Several buildings are no longer habitable, with crumbling shacks and completely collapsed ruins scattered along the street. Many say the sight is more reminiscent of an abandoned village than a functioning residential area.
The population of Kevermes has declined dramatically over recent decades and now stands at just a fraction of its former size. Most residents of Szabadság Street are elderly, while younger generations have largely moved away.
Foreign buyers are also taking notice
Despite the bleak picture, some see potential in the village. Last year, a German man caused a minor sensation by purchasing a house on the street. He has been slowly renovating the property, already replacing the windows and doors.
“These houses used to be worth only HUF 700,000–800,000 around here, so everyone was surprised that someone paid two million for it,” neighbour Éva Bodóné told Blikk.
He is not the only foreign buyer to show interest. Locals say Romanian purchasers are appearing more frequently as well. Some renovate the houses purely as investments, while others actually move in.
“Every house used to be lived in”
For long-time residents, the changes are deeply painful. Eighty-year-old Józsi bácsi has spent his entire life in Kevermes.
“Every house used to be occupied. Now, hardly anyone is left. Young people move away, there’s no (farmers’) cooperative (TSZ – ed.), no work,” he said, adding that many would only find employment in Békéscsaba, but the daily commute is long and exhausting.
A couple, Norbert and Kitti Lakatos, share a similar view. The mother of three says even public works jobs are hard to come by, while commuting daily with children is nearly impossible.
The mayor says there are jobs available
Mayor Zoltán Lantos paints a more nuanced picture. He rejects the claim that there are no job opportunities in the village.
“A local agricultural company employs more than a hundred people, and seasonal work can last for 10 or even 11 months of the year. Meanwhile, we can hardly find a baker for the municipality’s own bakery,” he said.
At the same time, the mayor emphasised that genuinely liveable houses are rarely available for under HUF 1 million. Properties priced below that are usually derelict and destined for demolition. The local council has launched a separate programme to remove these ruins, with the cleared plots being reused as agricultural land.
Could new residents bring a turnaround?
According to Lantos, newcomers arriving from abroad or from other Hungarian settlements could help stabilise Kevermes in the long run and may even trigger a gradual rise in property prices.
Until then, Szabadság Street remains Hungary’s cheapest residential street: a place where house prices evoke a bygone Hungary, and where a few million forints can buy not just a property, but an entirely different way of life.