Real Estate Sales Could Total 120,000 in Hungary in 2024

The domestic real estate market has performed in line with preliminary expectations this year, with the number of sales expected to close around the middle of the 110-130,000 annual range, and a further 10-20% growth can be expected next year, real estate broker Duna House has said, based on its own data.

The statement quoted the Deputy CEO of Duna House, Ferenc Máté, who said that Duna House's optimistic forecast for 2024 has been confirmed. During the year, the improvement in financing opportunities, the renewed home creation subsidies and the availability of interest-subsidized loans had a positive impact on the propensity to buy property.

They pointed out that the 114,277 transactions estimated by Duna House for the period between January and November 2024 are around 9% higher than the 105,192 property sales reported by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) for the whole of last year.

They also pointed out that the Duna House indicator shows that demand in the real estate market has reached a two-year high, driven by investors' activity in addition to home buyers. The lower yields on inflation-linked government bonds also encouraged investors to do so, with 40% of sales in the capital in October motivated by investment objectives, according to the Duna House Barometer.

The increase in demand has also brought a rise in prices. In Budapest, the average price per square meter of second-hand properties sold through real estate agents rose by 6 percent to HUF 912,000, while in the countryside the average price per square meter rose by 13-14% to HUF 444,000. Last year, there was a 2.2-fold difference between the average price per square meter in the capital and in rural areas, while currently, sellers of second-hand property in the capital are asking double the rural average per square meter.

Next year, the real estate market is expected to grow by 10-20% in terms of both transaction numbers and property prices, driven by strengthening demand, Duna House said.