The Hungarian rental housing market started the year with a turnaround, according to the latest January data of the KSH-ingatlan.com rent index. Rent prices decreased slightly in December, but they started to increase again in January: they were 1.5% higher nationally and 1.9% higher in Budapest.
After the previous month’s decrease, rent prices rose again in January 2024: they were 1.5% higher nationally and 1.9% higher in Budapest. January rents were nominally higher than the same period of the previous year nationally by 13%, in Budapest by 12%, and the base period of 2015 by 98% and 88%, respectively.
The real housing wage index was 23 nationally and exceeded the 2015 base by 17% in the capital. Both values increased compared to the previous month.
In January 2024, the price of rental apartments in all district groups of Budapest increased compared to the previous month. Rent prices increased by 1.0% in the mountainous districts of Buda, and by 0.8% in the other districts of Buda. On the Pest side, rents were 1.3% higher in the inner districts, 3.2% in the transition districts, and 2.8% in the outer Pest districts. In one year, rent prices in the capital’s district groups generally increased by 11-12%, with the largest price increase occurring in the outer districts of Pest (12.7%).
“We expected that after the monthly decrease seen in the last month of last year, rent prices would move up again in January. This is primarily due to the increase in salaries and the retreat of inflation, i.e. the increase in real wages. Landlords can also ask for more rent from higher salaries”
– evaluated the latest data by László Balogh, the leading economic expert of ingtalan.com, who added that the increase in real housing rents may sooner or later lure investors back to the housing market, which in the medium term may be accompanied by an increase in housing prices.
The analysis of ingtalan.com reveals that in mid-February the average rent in Budapest was HUF 250,000. The most expensive part of the city is the II. district with HUF 352,000. District V is in second place, and district I is in third place, with rents of HUF 335,000 and HUF 300,000 respectively. The districts with the largest selection continue to include the XI. and XIII. districts, the former was characterized by an average rent price of HUF 250,000 and HUF 255,000 in the latter in mid-February.
This time, Székesfehérvár became the most expensive of the county seats with an average rent price of HUF 210,000, followed by Debrecen and Győr with HUF 205,000 and HUF 195,000. The cheapest apartments for rent are now offered in Szekszárd, Miskolc and Békéscsaba, at an average of 105,000, 105,000 and 95,000 forints respectively.
