According to a survey conducted in May, those looking to rent in Debrecen had to budget for an average monthly rent of HUF 225,000. During the summer, this price has increased further, with current averages ranging between HUF 248,000 and 250,000.
In the capital, average monthly rental fees can reach HUF 270,000–280,000, to which additional costs such as the security deposit are added—typically two months’ rent. Real estate experts interviewed by MTI, commenting on the peak rental season starting with the announcement of university admission results, emphasized the importance of including utility cost breakdowns in written lease agreements.
Property website ingatlan.com pointed out that the current average rent in Budapest—based on nearly 10,000 rental listings—is around HUF 270,000. However, the price differences between districts are significant: District II is the most expensive, with an average monthly rent of HUF 350,000, while District XXIII is the cheapest at HUF 160,000.
They added that Debrecen’s average rental price of HUF 248,000 is only slightly below the Budapest average. In other major university towns, average rents are HUF 200,000–210,000 in Győr and Székesfehérvár, HUF 165,000–185,000 in Szeged and Pécs, and around HUF 125,000 in Miskolc.
According to data from ingatlan.com, landlords typically request two months’ deposit and one month’s rent upfront, meaning the initial cost of moving in can range from HUF 500,000 to 800,000 in Hungary’s largest university cities.
Duna House noted that the announcement of admission scores triggers the high season in the rental market. However, more and more students are adopting a wait-and-see approach, hoping for a drop in prices. While this may lead to savings of hundreds of thousands of forints, it also increases competition for available apartments.
Their data shows that in July, average rents were around HUF 270,000–280,000 in Budapest, HUF 210,000–250,000 in Debrecen, HUF 190,000–230,000 in Győr, HUF 150,000–170,000 in Szeged, HUF 140,000 in Pécs, and HUF 110,000 in both Miskolc and Szolnok.
Data from Otthon Centrum shows that average monthly rents in Budapest were HUF 290,000 in District XI, HUF 270,000 in District XIII, HUF 240,000 in District VIII, and HUF 220,000 in both District III and XXII. In Debrecen, the average rent reached HUF 250,000, while in Pécs and Szeged it was HUF 130,000 and HUF 150,000, respectively.
Listings on Hungarian real estate site zenga.hu—owned and operated by OTP Bank—show studio apartments in central Budapest listed for HUF 220,000–240,000, while two-room apartments can exceed HUF 300,000. In District XI, smaller apartments start at HUF 200,000, while two- to two-and-a-half-room apartments range between HUF 270,000–280,000. In outer districts, studio apartments can be found starting at HUF 160,000.
In Debrecen, studio apartments are advertised for nearly HUF 200,000, while two-room apartments are listed around HUF 240,000. In other university towns, two-room apartments can be found starting from HUF 170,000–180,000. The cheapest county seats are Salgótarján and Békéscsaba, where a two-room apartment rents for just HUF 110,000–120,000 per month.
