Loan interest rates trend down in Hungary as US mortgage costs rise

In Hungary, personal loan interest rates are seeing a downward trend, with some top offers approaching 9 percent. Erste Bank recently reduced rates for certain amounts, leading to a best available annual rate of 9.04 percent, subject to specific income and collateral requirements. UniCredit Bank offers rates as low as 9.18 percent, while CIB Bank’s best rate is 9.38 percent. MBH Bank provides a 9.39 percent rate for fully online applications, and Trive Bank offers 9.4 percent for its eHitel Expressz product. Despite these competitive rates, the volume of new personal loan contracts in the first eight months of 2026 reached nearly 1 trillion forints, a 36.3 percent year-on-year increase.

In the United States, the mortgage market faces challenges due to high interest rates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is currently 50 percent higher than the 25-year average of 5 percent. With a median monthly income of approximately $5,000 and median home prices around $400,000, monthly mortgage payments represent a significant portion of household income—ranging from 34 to 45 percent depending on the interest rate. Consequently, while used home sales saw a slight monthly increase, they have experienced a 2.2 percent decline on an annual basis.