In June 2023, only 7,120 residential properties changed hands in Hungary, according to the the monthly Transaction Number Estimate (DH-TB) of Duna House Group. This is a very low number again, so even though May was stronger, it seems that buyers are still waiting. We last saw so few sales in the first half of this year in 2014.
The Hungarian residential market recovered to this year's average pace in June, and closed with an extremely weak first half-year performance overall. Based on Duna House's own data, the number of transactions in June 2023 was estimated at 7,120 nationwide, which marks a year-on-year decline of over 30%.
Despite a stronger month in May, the first-half 2023 figures show a significant decline. A total of 43,987 sales were made in the first half of this year, down 41% on H1 2022, 47% on the stronger 2021, and even 26% on the first half of 2020, which was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Although the real estate brokerage expects 90,000 to 110,000 transactions in its forecast for this year, current figures suggest that the market is lagging even lower than the bottom of the range. However, experts were already expecting a stronger second half of the year, which could now be further boosted by the announced changes to home purchase subsidies, thanks to purchases being brought forward .
