House Prices in Hungary Accelerated in October

Housing prices rose by 2.5% in October compared to a month earlier, compared to a monthly increase of only 0.9% in September; the year-on-year increase accelerated from nearly 7% in September to almost 10% in September, according to the latest housing price index from the Hungarian real estate site ingatlan.com.

According to the portal's Thursday statement, the annual price increase in the Northern and Southern Plain regions also exceeded 11%, which is faster than the national and capital city averages. This is mainly due to the increase in demand for residential property in Debrecen and Szeged.

As a result of the price increase, the average price per square meter of apartments for sale in Budapest reached a new level in early November, almost reaching HUF 1.1 million. In total, eleven districts – including 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th and 13th – are already above this average price.

The average price per square meter for newly built apartments and houses in Budapest is over HUF 1.35 million, while the average price for second-hand apartments and houses is HUF 1.08 million.

László Balogh, chief economic expert at ingatlan.com, said in the statement that a year ago the average price per square meter of apartments in the capital was still below HUF 1 million. Owners looking to sell their apartments seem to have already priced in the investor rush expected next year, although the bulk of the higher-paying demand will only arrive in the housing market in 2025.

According to the data on the housing market in the countryside, the average price per square meter already exceeds HUF 600,000 in ten cities. Debrecen leads the way with HUF 853,000 per square meter. In second place, Győr, Veszprém, Székesfehérvár and Szeged are in a virtual tie with an average price of HUF 790,000-804,000. The average price of these cities exceeds that of some districts of Budapest.

In Pécs, prices are even lower, at HUF 689,000, while Eger, Szombathely and Kecskemét have prices of around HUF 650,000 per square meter, according to ingatlan.com.