Hungary's dwelling construction continues to fall

A total of 4,077 new dwellings were built in Hungary in the first nine months of 2013, 37% fewer than a year ago, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) has reported. The number of dwellings put to use decreased in all regions, only the capital city saw a 3% rise. The number of dwelling construction permits fell by 32% to 5,327 compared to the data of January-September 2012.

The financial website portfolio.hu reports that year-on-year, the fall in home construction was similar to the national average (35%) in the towns of county rank, while the number of dwellings put to use was halved year-on-year in the other towns and villages. Only Budapest reported an increase, where 3% more, 1127 homes were built, which accounted for one-fourth of all dwellings under construction in the country.

In Budapest, a few major housing projects accounted for a considerable part of this growth. Almost half of the new dwellings put to use are in Budapest and Pest County, in addition to this only Gyõr-Moson-Sopron county reported a significant number (more than 400) of new home completions.

Based on new dwelling construction permits issued in the reference period, the number of homes planned to be built in Budapest fell year-on-year by 53% to 812. In villages, the number of new dwelling construction permits decreased at a rate above the national average (38%), it fell by 26% in the other towns and by 11% in the county towns. In the first nine months of 2013, the number of new permits issued was 31% higher than that of dwellings put to use. Year-on-year almost all regions of the country saw a decline.

Gyõr-Moson-Sopron was the only county, where compared to the relatively high value of the previous period the number and useful floor area of construction permits issued for residential buildings increased (126 and 114%).