Hungarian housing market sees July demand rise despite annual drop

In July, demand for homes and houses in Hungary fell 14 % compared with the same month a year earlier, a decline attributed to the high baseline created by last summer's launch of the Otthon Start Program. When measured against June, however, demand increased by about 9 %, driven mainly by a 13 % surge in interest for garden houses and a near‑6 % rise for apartments.

Budapest showed virtually no change, with demand up only 0.4 % month‑on‑month, while eastern counties such as Szabolcs‑Szatmár‑Bereg, Csongrád‑Csanád and Hajdú‑Bihar recorded roughly 30 % monthly growth. Listings fell 8 % from June and 6 % year‑on‑year. Balogh László, chief economic expert at ingatlan.com, explained that the apparent slump reflects the program’s earlier peak rather than a structural market crisis.