The pace of the Budapest housing market has changed significantly over the past year. While prices rose rapidly last fall, data from ingatlan.com for September show only a 3.3 percent year-over-year increase in the capital. Nationwide, the rate of price increases remained significantly higher, at 8.2 percent.
László Balogh, chief economist of ingatlan.com, told Economx that prices in Budapest “have already pulled the handbrake”. Last November annual growth was still above 20 percent, but now more and more buyers are waiting.
## The districts are moving in different directions
The capital’s average does not reflect the situation in every part of the city. In six districts—mainly in Buda and the city center—prices have already begun to decline on a year-over-year basis, while in the outlying districts, prices continue to rise by 8–10 percent.
This difference is also significant for those looking for apartments in inner-city neighborhoods: the Budapest market is not slowing down uniformly. According to the expert, prices and demand are keeping each other in check. There are fewer buyers because apartments have become unaffordable in many areas, and weaker demand is holding back price increases.
László Balogh does not currently foresee another wave of demand that would once again boost the market. That said, he does not expect a dramatic drop in prices either, because in his experience, prices that have already reached high levels rarely plummet sharply.
## A decade of price rises behind the prices
The current slowdown looks quite different over a longer period. According to data cited by Economx, property prices in Hungary rose by 266.5 percent between 2015 and 2025, compared with an EU average of 61.9 percent over the same period.
According to the latest Eurostat figures, EU housing prices rose by 4.7 percent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the second quarter of 2025. Rents were 3 percent higher.
The Hungarian rental market saw an annual increase of 3.6–3.7 percent during the summer months. On a monthly basis, there were minor fluctuations: a 0.3 percent increase in June, a 0.1 percent decrease in July, and a 0.1 percent increase in August.
## A slower market rather than a big price fall
According to the expert, the increase in supply could curb the rise in rents and prices of new apartments. The slowdown in price increases in Budapest may also temper the wave of people moving to the suburbs: when prices in the capital rise less sharply, fewer people generally look for cheaper homes beyond Budapest’s borders.
For now, the figures point not to a cheaper but to a calmer market. Buyers are giving themselves more time, while the high price level still limits who can afford to buy a home.
Source: Economx
