House price index
Hungary's house price index has risen steadily over the past 10 years. In 2025, however, the index recorded strong year-on-year growth of 17%. At such rates of increase, the average price per square metre becomes a particularly important indicator.
Number of real estate transactions
At the same time, despite the continued rise in the index, transaction volumes have been falling for the fourth year in a row. Prices are increasing while the number of transactions is steadily contracting.
Average price per square metre
At the same time, the average price per square metre is growing steadily and without excessive volatility. When the index rises sharply while the average price per square metre increases at a moderate pace, such index growth points not to overheating but to strong demand from institutional investors and high-budget buyers.
Construction activity
In 2024 the country issued the highest number of new building permits in its history. In 2025 the number of permits declined, indicating an adequate market response to weakening demand amid rising prices.
Rental yield
Budapest delivers the highest rental yield thanks to its exceptional appeal to tourists. More than 70% of property purchases by foreign buyers are concentrated in Budapest.
Foreign demand
German citizens are the most active buyers of property in Hungary. The market is also highly popular among buyers from Austria, Russia and China. The share of the latter two groups has risen year on year, with activity from Chinese buyers up 25% year on year.
In 2025 the growth of the HPI significantly outpaced the increase in the average price per square metre, pointing to structural shifts within the market, rising demand in the premium segments and larger-scale real estate investment. These factors are driving index growth well above the average rate of price increases.
Over the past few years Hungary has delivered some of the strongest investment results in Europe. The market is also marked by a high level of transparency: statistical data are published regularly and openly.
Despite isolated signs of a cooling market, current indicators point to substantial growth in the higher-priced segments, driven by strong interest from foreign buyers. Hungary is pursuing a balanced and constructive economic policy, supporting increased investment flows from both European and Asian countries.
The Hungarian market remains attractive for investment in 2025, with a broad range of high-yield opportunities. Most of them are concentrated in prime locations in Budapest, where returns on investment at the construction stage significantly exceed the market average.
The average investment cycle for new projects is roughly 2.5–3 years, slightly above the optimal range of 1.5–2 years. This is mainly due to the scale and height of construction in the major urban agglomerations. However, strong price growth in Hungary is outpacing inflation, which makes projects with a longer investment horizon viable.
Hungary is strengthening its position in Europe and has solid fundamentals to remain attractive in 2026–2027, provided there are no significant external shocks in the region.
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