Investors Return to the Capital's Property Market

Investors have returned to the capital's real estate market, with investment buyers accounting for 41% of transactions in September after the second quarter low, the property agency Duna House reported on Wednesday, according to MTI. The most popular locations were Erzsébetváros (District 7), Józsefváros (District 9), Angyalföld (District 13) and Terézváros (District 6).

According to Duna House Barometer data, the 41% investor presence in the capital is down from last October's peak of 55%, but it is the third strongest month this year after 43% in March and 42% in January.

Last year, 27% of all transactions in Hungary were not for owner-occupied housing, with investor activity falling to 22% in the first three quarters of the year.

In the capital, the second quarter was the weakest, and outside Budapest the period between July and September was the period when 23% of people invested their savings in property.

In the capital, 13% of buyers who signed an investment contract chose a property in District 7, 10% in District 8, but District 13 and District 6 were also popular, with 9-9%.

District 13 was the most expensive after districts 1 and 2, with average prices per square meter exceeding HUF 1.1 million, they said.

In areas outside the capital, the share of investment properties accounted for a fifth (21%) of all transactions in September, up from a peak of 38% in January, Duna House noted.