The Hungarian residential rental property market continues to be a mixed bag based on current asking prices, according to the latest monthly survey of real estate portal ingatlan.com, which presents the latest joint rent index of ingatlan.com and the Central Statistical Office (KSH) for March and summarises the supply and average rent as of the end of April based on 40,000 ads.
Key findings
- Nationwide rent levels varied in a buyer's market, growing just 0.5% month on month in March but decreasing 1.6% compared to last April when the market took a sharp turn due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- In Budapest, the average rent rose by 0.8% compared to February but was still 2.2% lower than last April's reduced rates.
- The supply of rental apartments nationwide was 10% higher than a year earlier.
- In Budapest, rental properties were offered between HUF 110,000 and HU 170,000 a month, varying based on location. As for county seats, the average monthly rent was HUF 100,000 in Debrecen, HUF 110,000 in Győr, HUF 90,000 in Kecskemét and HUF 95,000 in Szeged.
- Tighter regulations on short-term rental properties in Districts 6 and 7, formerly the bastions of home apartments, could influence the future of Budapest's rental market.
According to the KSH-ingatlan.com Rent Index, March rents were 0.5% higher in March than a month earlier, with the average rent increasing by 0.8% in Budapest. "The increase in rents in March was minimal and does not signal a sustained rise. All the more so since current rent levels are 1.6% lower nationwide and 2.2% lower in Budapest than they were last April, when the market took a sharp turn due to the coronavirus pandemic," László Balogh, Chief Business Expert at ingatlan.com, said evaluating the latest data.
