Hungary’s housing market continued to post price increases in April, although the pace of growth slowed both monthly and annually, according to the latest housing price index published by ingatlan.com on Thursday.
The property portal said nationwide home prices rose by 0.8 per cent month-on-month in April, following a 2 per cent increase in March. Annual price growth, meanwhile, eased from 15.8 per cent to 14.3 per cent.
In Budapest, the market showed even clearer signs of cooling. After a 1.1 per cent monthly increase in March, the capital’s housing price index declined by 0.1 per cent in April. Annual price growth in Budapest also slowed from 13.7 per cent to 10.9 per cent, meaning yearly inflation in the capital’s housing market could soon fall below 10 per cent for the first time since November 2024.
The analysis quoted László Balogh, chief economic expert at ingatlan.com, who said Hungary’s housing market has effectively split into two distinct segments.
According to Balogh, the government’s Otthon Start housing scheme, which introduced a price cap of 1.5 million forints per square metre for eligible Budapest properties from October, has begun to restrain price growth in the capital. Outside Budapest and in smaller settlements, however, prices have continued rising more sharply because there remains ‘substantial room’ between market prices and the upper limits tied to subsidized mortgage programmes.
Regional data showed that Pest County recorded the strongest annual growth in April at 18 per cent, followed by Central Transdanubia at 15.5 per cent, the Southern Great Plain at 15.3 per cent and the Northern Great Plain at 15.2 per cent.
Home prices increased by 14.8 per cent year-on-year both in Southern Transdanubia and Northern Hungary, while Western Transdanubia recorded 14.5 per cent growth.
Among Budapest districts, the largest supply of homes for sale in mid-May was found in District XIII, where nearly 3,700 properties were listed. Median asking prices there reached 1.65 million forints per square metre, while the median listing price stood at 99 million forints.
Districts VI and VII also showed strong supply levels, with median prices of 1.63 million and 1.5 million forints per square metre, respectively. Median property prices were around 110 million forints in District VI and 90 million forints in District VII.
In District XI, median prices reached 1.67 million forints per square metre, with a median asking price of 95.5 million forints. Meanwhile, Budapest’s cheapest district remained District XXIII, where the median price stood at 901,000 forints per square metre and approximately 89.7 million forints overall.
Among Hungary’s larger provincial cities, Pécs had the largest supply of residential properties on the market, with median prices of 958,000 forints per square metre. Buyers in Debrecen faced median prices of 1.11 million forints per square metre, while prices averaged around one million forints in Szeged and 976,000 forints in Győr.
The country’s lowest prices were registered in Salgótarján, where median asking prices stood at 319,000 forints per square metre.
László Balogh said the second half of the year could become significantly more active and dynamic for the housing market than the first six months of 2026.
He noted that the number of phone enquiries from buyers began to recover in May following an April low point, indicating a modest rebound in demand. He also highlighted ongoing discussions about Airbnb regulation in Budapest’s District VIII.
According to the analyst, placing key housing policy responsibilities under the new Ministry of Transport and Investments could lead to more efficient decision-making processes.
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