Hungarian real estate listings rise as mortgage volume hits record levels

The Hungarian real estate and mortgage markets are experiencing divergent trends. In September, property listings saw a significant increase, with approximately 150,000 homes available on ingatlan.com, marking an 11% rise compared to the previous year. However, buyer interest has cooled; telephone inquiries dropped by 37% year-on-year, and new listings in September rose by 26% compared to August, while interest only grew by 1%. This lack of typical autumn demand is noted by experts, contrasting with the massive demand boom seen during the launch of the Otthon Start Program.

In the mortgage sector, August data from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank shows that total housing loan disbursements for the first eight months of the year have exceeded 2 trillion forints, surpassing last year's record. New mortgage contracts in August totaled 211.72 billion forints, nearly double the amount from August of the previous year. Despite this growth, August represented the weakest monthly performance so far this year.

The Otthon Start Program remains the primary driver of the market, accounting for 68.5% of the total volume in August, with 4,056 of the 7,722 new mortgage contracts being part of the program. While supported loans made up 75.5% of the market, market-rate mortgage disbursements saw a year-on-year decline of 36.4%.