Budapest Rental Housing Market: Slight Recovery

In parallel with the easing epidemic situation and the partial opening, demand in the Budapest rental market has strengthened by the beginning of May: compared to the low of HUF 126,000 in December, the average asking rent has now risen by 7.6% to HUF 135,000, according to a recent analysis by Rentingo.com.

As reported by the financial website portfolio.hu, the slow recovery on the supply side has not yet brought any significant change, with the average rent of advertised apartments rising by just 3% in April.

The demand side has shown signs of a cautious recovery in the capital's rental market over the past two months. The trend can be clearly linked to the easing of the epidemic situation, the increase in vaccinations and the resulting announced relaxations. As the number of people employed in the service sector is rising again thanks to the opening up, more people are looking for rented accommodation and the solvency of those working in the sector is also increasing.

However, according to Rentingo.com, despite a slow recovery on the demand side, landlords have remained subdued for the time being, with supply prices little changed since the start of the year, up just 3% from their March low. In April, landlords were asking an average of HUF 143,000 for their rented flats, still down from HUF 148,000 a year earlier, when the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic caused both a supply surge and a fall in demand on the market.