For decades, the premium property market has operated on a single premise: land is value. That is true, but it is increasingly incomplete. Hungary’s natural capital extends far beyond farmland. Beneath the Carpathian Basin lies a resource that is rare in Europe, attracts growing attention from global investors and is still scarcely reflected in property prices: water. Water assets in Hungary are not water in the ordinary sense, but thermal water, geothermal energy, medicinal water and mineral springs whose value is shaped by geology, protected by law and made commercially distinctive through permitting and recognition procedures.

Author: Emese Széll, Private Real Estate Advisor to Premium Clients in Hungary

The Carpathian Basin as a natural rarity

Hungary’s geothermal endowment is exceptional in the European context. Owing to the thin crust beneath the Carpathian Basin, the geothermal gradient, the rate at which temperature increases with depth, averages around 45–50 °C per kilometre in Hungary, compared with a continental European average of 25–30 °C per kilometre. Depending on local conditions, economically useful temperatures of 50–100 °C or more can therefore often be reached at depths of 1,000–2,000 metres, whereas much of Western Europe may require drilling to 3,000–4,000 metres. Greater depth means higher costs and greater technical complexity. Hungary’s structural advantage is real and durable, yet neither capital markets nor the property market have fully priced it in.

Geothermal potential is not only an energy question. Hungary’s thermal-water resources underpin its spa culture, agricultural heating and health tourism. The geothermal district-heating systems in Szeged and Debrecen, and spa destinations such as Hévíz, Egerszalók and Zalakaros, all rely on a domestic resource that is not import-dependent, is comparatively resilient to seasonal weather fluctuations and cannot readily be replaced. For a sophisticated investor, that last characteristic is decisive: a geothermal source is a structurally scarce asset.

In legal terms, however, thermal-water extraction and the use of geothermal energy do not always fall under the same permitting regime. Under the Mining Act, the mining authority generally authorises the exploration, extraction and use of geothermal energy through thermal-water extraction, except where the extraction is primarily for medicinal or agricultural purposes.

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Mineral water: a distinct legal and commercial category

Water assets in Hungary are not limited to thermal water. Natural mineral water intended to be bottled and sold as food is a distinct legal category. Under Joint Decree 65/2004 (IV. 27.) FVM–ESzCsM–GKM, the Government Office of the Capital City Budapest (Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala) recognises water as natural mineral water on application. The applicant must demonstrate compliance with the prescribed chemical, microbiological and other requirements and submit the required documentation. The EU framework is set by Directive 2009/54/EC. This regime is separate from the recognition of medicinal water and other natural therapeutic factors under Government Decree 509/2023 (XI. 20.).

The commercial distinction is real, but the categories do not form a simple legal hierarchy. Natural mineral water must originate in a protected underground aquifer, be naturally free from contamination, remain close to constant in composition and temperature within the limits of natural fluctuation, and satisfy the applicable microbiological requirements. Disinfection is prohibited, although the legislation permits a limited range of specified treatments. Spring water is a separate legal category with its own bottling and quality requirements; it is not the same as officially recognised natural mineral water. The distinction can support significant product differentiation and brand value, but it does not in itself create a legal monopoly or turn the water’s composition into a trade mark.

Silica as a global premium differentiator

Some of Hungary’s deep thermal and mineral-water resources have a high silicic-acid content expressed as silicon dioxide (SiO2). This constituent has become a commercial differentiator in the global “beauty water” and “silica water” segments. In legal terms, however, silica content does not in itself amount to an authorised health claim. Any commercial claim for food that links silica to benefits for the skin, hair or connective tissue is subject to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 and may be used only where permitted under the applicable EU health-claims regime. Fiji Water, whose silica content is commonly reported at approximately 93 mg/l, is frequently cited as an industry benchmark and uses this characteristic as part of its premium positioning.

Hungarian deep thermal sources, particularly in the Great Plain and the Tisza region, may contain substantially higher levels of silicic acid expressed as SiO2. According to project documentation available to me, laboratory testing of a thermal source in Heves County, nearly 950 metres deep and above 50 °C, recorded a value of 341 mg/l, almost four times the cited Fiji Water benchmark. A 149-metre mineral-water well in the Börzsöny hills recorded a metasilicic-acid content of 112 mg/l, also above that benchmark. These project-specific figures should be assessed against the original laboratory reports and authority records.

Why are water assets in Hungary not reflected in property prices?

If these figures are so compelling, why are they not reflected in property prices? Part of the answer lies in regulation, which is the subject of the next two articles in this series. A water resource alone is not enough: the legal route to exploitation depends on the intended use, the method of abstraction and the installation involved.

For water works, water installations and water uses, the need for a water-law permit (vízjogi engedély) must generally be assessed under the Water Management Act, subject to statutory notification regimes and exemptions. Government Decree 72/1996 (V. 22.) and Minister of Interior Decree 41/2017 (XII. 29.) contain key procedural and documentation rules. For water bases serving drinking-water, mineral-water or medicinal-water purposes, the designation of a subsurface protection zone, surface protection area or protection strip under Government Decree 123/1997 (VII. 18.) may also be relevant, while Government Decree 219/2004 (VII. 21.) governs the protection of groundwater.

Mining-law authorisation may also be decisive where geothermal energy is recovered through thermal-water extraction. An environmental impact assessment is required only in the cases specified by Government Decree 314/2005 (XII. 25.). If a project may affect a Natura 2000 site, an initial assessment under Government Decree 275/2004 (X. 8.) may be required; a full appropriate assessment is necessary where the possibility of a significant effect cannot be excluded. The designation of a protection zone, a receiving-water statement or an environmental impact assessment is therefore not an automatic requirement in every water-law permitting case.

This creates two distinct opportunities for an informed buyer.

  • The permitted source. Acquiring property whose water resource already has the water-law and/or mining-authority permits required for its intended use and, where relevant, official recognition as natural mineral water or medicinal water. Such assets are rare and are generally priced accordingly.
  • The documented but unpermitted source. Identifying land where the geological resource is documented but the necessary permitting and recognition process has not yet been completed, so the entry price does not yet fully reflect the potential value of the water resource. This is where patient capital may create value, with the legal and regulatory process forming part of value creation rather than merely an obstacle to it.

What comes next

The water assets in Hungary, from thermal water and mineral springs to geothermal energy and recognised medicinal water, represent a form of natural capital whose market value is heavily influenced by legal and technical usability and by the complexity of the regulatory process. The next articles examine how water-base protection rules can affect the land-registry position and market value of a property, and how an investor can move from geological potential to a lawfully exploitable, value-generating source.

Legislation cited

This article provides general market and legal information only and does not constitute individual legal, water-law, mining, environmental or food-law advice. Before any investment, the applicable permitting and regulatory requirements should be assessed for the specific site, water resource and intended use. The English titles of Hungarian legislation are descriptive translations; the Hungarian-language legal text is authoritative. Legislation checked as at 3 September 2026.

Featured image is illustration. Photo: Bükfürdő Thermal & Spa