Unexpected turn on Hungary’s rental price market

Based on the latest data, rental prices started falling in Hungary but not in Budapest. Yet.

Rental market changes in Hungary

According to index.hu, Otthon Centrum’s latest data shows that rental prices started to fall in the Hungarian municipalities. In Budapest, the pace of price increases slowed down.

In the last three months, the average rental price of brick apartments in Budapest reached HUF 242 thousand (EUR 634.5). That is only 3% higher than in H1 in 2023. Meanwhile, in the cities above 100,000 inhabitants, the average rental price is HUF 168 thousand (EUR 434), which is 1.7% lower than in H1 2023.

Based on the data of Otthon Centrum, Budapest’s downtown is the most expensive. The average rental price reached HUF 359 thousand (EUR 926) there, which is unaffordable for most Hungarians. Meanwhile, in the outer districts, the average rental price is HUF 177 thousand (EUR 456), which is more than half of the Hungarian average net income per person.

Read also:

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Demand for small flats strong

In the country, Székesfehérvár, Győr and Pécs are the most expensive, HUF 180 thousand (EUR 458). Szeged, Miskolc and Debrecen are cheaper (HUF 150 thousand, EUR 387). The category of blocks of flats is the cheapest everywhere. You may rent out such a flat in Buda for less than HUF 200,000 (EUR 516).

Demand is the strongest for small, one-room flats. Therefore, the price rise is the most significant in that category. Therefore, Otthon Centrum recommends two-room flats because prices did not go up compared to H1 2023, and there is no significant difference in the nominal prices compared to one-room apartments.

Magyar Nemzet, a government-close daily, believes that the Hungarian property market would start to flourish again only if real wages grew. Pénzcentrum wrote that one sqm of second-hand flats in Budapest decreased from HUF 954 thousand in July (EUR 2,461) to HUF 953 thousand (EUR 2458).