In 2022, we have registered sales of 138 thousand homes, 14% fewer than in the previous year. Turnover continued to fall in the first and second quarters of 2023. The price of second-hand dwellings rose by 3.9% in Q1 2023 and fell by 2.2% in Q2 2023 compared to the previous quarter, while the price of new dwellings rose in both quarters (by 2.7% and 7.6% respectively). Housing purchases by foreigners in Hungary picked up in 2022, surpassing the 2018 level, which was the peak in the years before the coronavirus epidemic.

Housing market turnover continued to fall

Housing sales in 2022 were 14% below the 2021 level. The decline in both the second-hand and new housing markets accelerated during the year. The decline continued in 2023, with 36% fewer dwellings changing hands in Q1 and 20% fewer in Q2 than in the same period of the previous year.

In 2022, the year-on-year decline in the turnover of new and second-hand dwellings levelled off, with both sub-markets falling by an annual average of 14%. The number of sales also fell in Q1-Q2 2023 compared to the low base period. The overall housing market declined by 36% in Q1 and 20% in Q2 compared to a year earlier. 7.4% of the dwellings sold in 2022 were new construction, the same as in 2021.

Fluctuating prices in the second-hand housing market

The 3.9% increase in the first quarter of 2023 was followed by a 2.2% fall in the second quarter of 2023 for second-hand dwellings. Meanwhile, new dwellings prices rose throughout, by 2.7% in the first quarter and by 7.6% in the second quarter. This has led to a gradual divergence of the two fixed base indices: by Q2 2023, prices for second-hand dwellings were 259% of the 2015 base and for new dwellings 310% of the 2015 base. In the second quarter of 2023, second-hand dwellings were only 2.5% and new dwellings 15% more expensive than in the same period of the previous year.

The evolution of the aggregate house price index is mainly determined by the price evolution of second-hand dwellings, due to their predominance in the market, and the base index stood at 266% in Q2, with an annual increase of 4.1%.

Compared with nominal prices, the real price index has been falling steadily since Q3 2022, but the pace of decline slowed in 2023, due to rising house prices in Q1 and then falling inflation. The 8.9% decline in real prices in Q4 2022 was followed by a fall of 2.1% in Q1 2023 and 0.7% in Q2 2023.

Major decrease in turnover in rural towns and agglomerations

The 14% decline in the housing market in 2022 took place with significant regional differences. In Budapest, there were 9.4% fewer sales and a similar decrease in the villages (9.1%). At the same time, a sharper decline was observed in the county towns and smaller towns (21% and 18% respectively). Sales declined even more in the towns and villages in the agglomeration (24%), while in the settlements outside the agglomerations the number of dwellings sold was 9.6% lower in 2022 than a year earlier.

In the first quarter of 2023, market sales continued to fall, followed by a recovery in the capital in the second quarter, while data available so far show a sharp decline in rural areas. (However, the positive development of sales data in the capital may also be due to faster lead times due to reduced transaction volumes.)

New housing market in Q1-Q2 2023

• Of the 4,400 or so homes built for sale, data has so far been received on only around 1,200, with an average price of HUF 59.0 million compared to HUF 55.7 million in 2022.
• In Budapest, a new dwelling cost HUF 73.3 million, HUF 10.5 million more than in 2022.
• The price per square metre of new dwellings was 996 thousand forints nationally and 1.3 million forints in the capital.

Second-hand housing market in Q2 2023,

• The average price per square metre of dwellings nationwide remained unchanged compared to HUF 434 thousand in Q1 2023. The average price of a dwelling decreased from HUF 27.7 million in the previous quarter to HUF 26.9 million.

• In Budapest, the average price of a dwelling was HUF 49.2 million, HUF 900 thousand less than a quarter earlier. Prices per square metre in the capital market also stagnated (HUF 888 thousand) compared to Q1. The price of condominium apartments remained essentially unchanged: the price per square metre of a prefab apartment was 746 thousand forints, while the price of a non-prefab condominium apartment was 940 thousand forints. The specific price of detached houses was 710 thousand HUF per sq m, 10 thousand HUF less than in Q1.  

• In the Budapest agglomeration, the average price per square metre was HUF 619 thousand, a minimal decrease of around HUF 2 thousand compared to the previous period. During this period, the total home price increased from HUF 52.6 million to HUF 55.9 million.
• In the Balaton agglomeration, the specific home price increased from HUF 683 thousand to HUF 716 thousand, but the total house price decreased from HUF 56.8 million to HUF 54.0 million.
• The market depreciation of detached houses continued, with their prices falling in all regions of the country, down 9.4% nationally compared to a quarter earlier.
• At the same time, non-prefab, condominium apartments increased in price across the country, with only the Northern Great Plain showing a slight decrease.
• The price of prefab flats showed no major shift either nationally or by region, with the average price per square metre rising from 548 thousand to 555 thousand forints.  

Total housing market turnover barely increased

After the close of data for 2022, the total value of the year's housing market turnover reached HUF 4056 billion, up just 2.4% from a year earlier. The second-hand housing market, with a total value of HUF 3470 billion, grew by 2.0% and the new housing market by 4.9%. Between 2015 and 2022, the share of new housing in the market grew from 4.0% to 14.4%.

In 2022, the total value of dwellings sold fell from quarter to quarter: to HUF 651 billion in Q4, down to less than half from Q1. The decline in housing market turnover played a major role in this, but to a lesser extent the slowdown in price increases also contributed. However, the regional composition of market turnover had little impact on the overall value of turnover: the combined market share of Budapest and the county seats remained between 60% and 62% throughout the year, while that of the villages increased from 13% in Q1 to 15% in the rest of the year.

Housing purchases by foreigners exceeded pre-pandemic levels

In 2022, around 8 thousand foreign nationals bought a home in Hungary, more than in 2018 (7.3 thousand), the peak of the years preceding the coronavirus epidemic.

• Germany continued to account for the largest number of buyers, two-thirds more than a year earlier, with one in two of them buying in Somogy or Zala.

• The second largest group of foreign home buyers since 2020 is no longer from China, but from Slovakia, who in 2022 most often bought property in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén (39%) and Győr-Moson-Sopron (25%) counties.

• Budapest accounted for one third of all housing purchases by foreigners, with Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Somogy and Zala counties accounting for another third.

• In Budapest, the inner districts of Pest were the most popular, along with the 13th district, while Rajka, Battonya, Győr, Mosonmagyaróvár and Hévíz were the most popular rural towns.

• Along the northern border, there are several small towns where Slovak citizens bought the majority of the dwellings (e.g. Dunakiliti near Bratislava or Abaújvár, Gönc, Hidasnémeti near Kassa).

House prices have changed only marginally on average for EU countries

In the second quarter of 2023, the aggregate house price index for the EU Member States (EU27_2020) was 146% of the 2015 base, while the euro area house price index was 142%, with no significant change in either index compared to the previous quarter.  

Q2 2023

• In several Member States house prices decreased compared to the previous quarter. The largest decreases were recorded in Slovakia and Luxembourg, where house prices fell by 3.9% and 2.7% respectively in one quarter.

• In Germany, housing prices were 9.9% lower than a year earlier, following four quarters of steady decline. There were also large annual price falls in Denmark (-7.6%) and Sweden (-6.8%), while house prices were 13.7% higher in Croatia and 10.7% higher in Bulgaria than in the same period of the previous year.

• Amongst the neighbouring countries, house prices were slightly down in Austria (-0.3%) compared to a year earlier. In Romania they remained broadly stable and in Slovakia they fell by 1.9%. As in Croatia, prices also rose in Slovenia, where they were 7.4% higher than a year earlier.

Further data and information

Methodological notes

Annual national data:
18.1.1.1. Summary data of housing
18.1.1.13. Housing price indices
18.1.1.14. Mean price per dwelling and sqm by region and building type
18.1.1.15. Number of housing transactions made by private persons

Annual regional data:
18.1.2.8. Mean price per dwelling by region and settlement type
18.1.2.9. Mean price per sqm by region and settlement type
18.1.2.10. Number of housing transactions made by private persons by region and settlement type
18.1.2.11. Mean price per dwelling by region and building type
18.1.2.12. Mean price per sqm by region and building type

Infra-annual national data:
18.2.1.1. Summary data of housing (quarterly data)
18.2.1.8. Housing price indices by quarter years
18.2.1.9. Number of housing transactions made by private persons by quarter years

Infra-annual regional data:
18.2.2.13. Mean price per dwelling by region and settlement type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.14. Mean price per sqm by region and settlement type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.15. Number of housing transactions made by private persons by region and settlement type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.16. Mean price per dwelling by region and building type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.17. Mean price per sqm by region and building type (quarterly data)

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