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How high can Hungarian house prices rise? There is still room for price rises

napi.hu, 27.09 – The Hungarian real estate market has grown exponentially over the past 10 years, and not even the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has reduced house prices. Hungary is still in the middle of the pack in the European price race, but experts see further room for price increases. Let’s take a look at what the market is like in Europe’s capitals.

The house price index for the European Union shows that house prices rose by 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year. The annual growth rate has never been so high since the third quarter of 2007. Compared with the end of last year, despite the impact of the epidemic, a further 1.7 percent increase in prices is forecast for the European housing market. The highest price increases were recorded in Luxembourg (+17%) compared to 12 months earlier, but were also above 10% in Denmark, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Among the Visegrád Four, not only the Czechs (11.9 percent) but also the Poles are ahead of Hungary in terms of market development: while Poland recorded a +7.2 percent increase compared to Q1 2020, Hungary had a mere +4.6 percent and Slovakia an even more moderate 2 percent.

Recent housing market data, Q2 2020

napi.hu, 05.11. – In Budapest, new flats can be bought for an average of HUF 40.3 million, HUF 2.5 million more than in 2019. The average square meter of an apartment increased from 687 thousand in 2019 to 784 thousand forints. In the county capitals of Western Transdanubia, where many new flats were sold, the average price of a new flat rose from HUF 24.4 million to HUF 27.4 million. In the smaller cities of the region the typical size of dwellings decreased, and, as a result, the average price per square meter increased from 375 thousand to 388 thousand forints, while the total average price remained unchanged. In the settlements around Lake Balaton the prices of new flats exceeded 600 thousand forints per square meter. Among the county capitals of the Great Plain, the unit price of new dwellings increased in Debrecen, which has a significant new housing market, from HUF 430 thousand to HUF 515 thousand in 2019, in Kecskemét from HUF 426 thousand to HUF 448 thousand, and in Nyíregyháza from HUF 359 thousand to HUF 378 thousand.

The price of new homes handed over in 2019-2020 was largely set in contracts concluded around 2018. For this reason, the price level of the new housing market presented here is lower than the typical asking prices of the given period and provides information only on the price development of the apartments actually handed over.

The average price per square meter in Budapest stagnated at HUF 643 thousand in the first quarter, then decreased to HUF 610 thousand in the second quarter.

Skyrocketing apartment prices

napi.hu, 29 January 2019 – As a result of last years’ price increases we need to work years more for an apartment, assuming we save up our entire salary. According to the calculations of a large real estate agency the price of an average apartment in a high-rise concrete block equals 8.5 years’ salary, while an apartment in a brick and mortar building costs the equivalent of 14 years’ salary. The exact figures depend on the job of the buyer, but an average concrete and a brick and mortar apartment cost 103 and 169 months’ average salary, respectively – assuming the buyer is not taking out a loan to finance the purchase.

Employees of the financial sector are in the best position here: their high average salaries enable them to acquire an apartment for 4.5 and 7.5 years’ entire wages, respectively. Naturally, their situation has also deteriorated compared to 2014. Employees in the catering industry are facing the biggest difficulties, but those in health care don’t have it easy either. They need to work 13 years for an apartment in a high-rise and 21-22 years in a traditional building. For catering and health care employees the same figures in 2014 were 8 and 14 years, respectively.

Which is the most expensive country town?

napi.hu, 27 December 2018 – In 2018 apartments in high-rise concrete blocks in Buda and in the Budapest conurbation sold fastest, within six weeks on average. Turnover increased by 13 per cent in the Budapest conurbation. Owners of apartments in high-rise concrete blocks in small towns had to wait for a buyer the longest, three months on average. Pre-owned apartments in Central Budapest sold for an average price of HUF 900 thousand per square metre, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 2017. The record holder among the Buda districts was District 1, with an average price exceeding HUF 700 thousand per square metre. In the country, the town with the biggest price increase was Debrecen: average prices per square metre increased by more than 25 per cent. The title of the most expensive country town in Hungary went to Sopron, where a pre-owned condominium apartment fetched a price of HUF 375 thousand per square metre.

This is not the time to buy a holiday home

napi.hu, 28.10.2017 – While there is no point in postponing apartment purchases because prices are climbing higher and higher, it makes sense to wait with buying a holiday home. According to a report published by a large online property agency this is because similarly to previous years prices are likely to start falling after the autumn rally. Let us take 2016 as an example: in the first and second quarters holiday homes sold at an average price of HUF 14 million compared to the average price of HUF 19 million at the end of summer 2015. The most expensive regions for buying a holiday home are almost exclusively in the proximity of Lake Balaton. The most expensive one is Siófok, where a holiday home will cost HUF 29 million, while a similar property in the region of Keszthely can be had for HUF 10 million less.

Apartment buyers deterred by prices

napi.hu, 06.04.2017 – According to the transaction volume estimate of a large Hungarian property agency 11 560 apartments changed owners in March in Hungary. March was a strong month on the property market, far stronger than the second half of 2016, even considering the 7 per cent backlog compared to the same month of last year. The recoiling was caused by the earlier surge in property prices which forced the market to take a deep breath while potential buyers waited to see where prices were going next.

March transaction volumes and indeed the increased demand in February indicate a return of buyers to the market, which means the wait for lower prices is over. This is also supported by the increasing proportion of buyers purchasing for themselves as opposed to investors. In total, there were 29.6 thousand property sales transactions completed in the first quarter of 2017 in Hungary. In 2015 and 2016 the same figure was slightly over 30 thousand, while in 2013 it was a mere 18 thousand.