Price increase drives buyers to the suburbs

The sharp rise in property prices in Budapest is causing more and more buyers to rediscover the suburbs. There you can buy a 100-120 m2 house with a garden for the price of a 60 m2 flat in Budapest. The house price index of the specialised portal ingatlan.com shows a price increase of almost 17% in Budapest compared to the previous year and 4.4% compared to January – mainly due to purchases by investors. In Pest county, by comparison, there were moderate increases of 7% and 2% respectively.

The property portal recorded a significant increase in demand in the Budapest metropolitan area: in the most popular settlements, demand rose markedly compared to the previous year: in Dunakeszi by 20%, in Budaörs by 37%, in Budakeszi by 49% and in Göd by as much as 56%. There are currently over 24,000 residential properties for sale in Pest county – a fall of 14% on the previous year. In Budapest, supply fell even more sharply, by more than 25%. The average price per square metre for second-hand properties in Budapest is around 1.4 million forints (approx. 3,500 euros), compared with just 710,000 forints in Pest county.