After a peak year in 2021, the number of dwellings sold decreased in every quarter from 2022 onwards. This trend did not stop during the first quarter of 2023 either, with 31% fewer dwellings sold than a year earlier. The decline affected the new and second-hand housing markets to a similar extent. The fall in prices during the fourth quarter of 2022 was replaced by a 2.5% rise in the first quarter of 2023, with new dwellings rising by 6.0% and second-hand dwellings by 1.9%. In the villages, however, there was a general decrease in the prices of second-hand dwellings.
Housing market turnover fell
The number of dwellings sold fell quarter on quarter in 2022, after a peak of 161,000 dwellings sold in 2021. The annual decline of 13% was accompanied by a drop of only 4.0% in the first quarter and 27% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The contraction of the housing market continued in the first quarter of 2023, with a 31% decline based on data observed at similar processing rates.
The new housing market was down 9% in 2022, while the second-hand market was down 14%. In the first quarter of 2023, the decrease is estimated at 29% for new and 31% for second-hand dwellings.
In 2022, 7.1% of the dwellings sold were new builds, essentially the same as in 2021 (7.4%).
Number of home sales and homes built for sales
| Year, quarter | Home sales, total | Of which: | New homes built for sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| second-hand homes | new homes | |||
| 2007 | 191.2 | .. | .. | 17.9 |
| 2008 | 154.1 | 140.0 | 14.1 | 17.4 |
| 2009 | 91.1 | 82.9 | 8.3 | 16.9 |
| 2010 | 90.3 | 85.5 | 4.8 | 10.7 |
| 2011 | 87.7 | 83.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 |
| 2012 | 86.0 | 83.3 | 2.6 | 3.5 |
| 2013 | 88.7 | 86.4 | 2.3 | 3.2 |
| 2014 | 113.8 | 110.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 2015 | 134.1 | 130.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| 2016 | 146.3 | 141.4 | 4.9 | 5.2 |
| 2017 | 153.8 | 147.7 | 6.1 | 7.3 |
| 2018 | 163.7 | 154.6 | 9.1 | 9.5 |
| 2019 | 157.0 | 145.8 | 11.2 | 12.1 |
| 2020 | 134.0 |
125.0 | 9.0 |
15.0 |
| 2021 | 160.7 |
148.8 | 12.0 | 12.9 |
| 2022 (received by close of data) | 131.9 | 122.6 | 9.3 | 12.2 |
| Q1 2023 (received by close of data) | 14.0 | 13.6 | 0.4 | 2.3 |
House prices have risen again
The slight fall in prices in the fourth quarter of 2022 was followed by a rise in the first quarter of 2023, but the rapid price increases that had always occurred in the first months of previous years were not repeated this time. The combined price index for new and second-hand dwellings rose by 2.5% compared to the previous quarter, with prices for second-hand dwellings up by 1.9% and for new dwellings by 6.0%.
The annual rate of increase in the composite house price index from the same period of the previous year reached a peak of 25% in the second quarter of 2022, the highest since observations began, and then it started to decline. In the first quarter of 2023 the aggregate index was only 9.6% higher than a year earlier. New dwellings were 13.6% and second-hand dwellings only 9.0% more expensive than in the first quarter of 2022.
Compared to the 2015 base year, the index for second-hand dwellings more than doubled (260%) and the index for new dwellings almost tripled (293%). The combined index was 265%.
Compared to nominal prices, the real house price index has fallen gradually over the last three quarters. Since the third quarter of 2022, the house price growth has lagged behind that of consumer prices; therefore, the real house price index returned to its level of two years earlier (167%) in the first quarter of 2023.
The slowdown in house price growth and the fall in real house prices were in connection with a standstill in lending for housing. The number of loans for the purchase of second-hand dwellings decreased by 26% in the first half of 2022, and in the second half of the year just over half as many second-hand loans were disbursed as a year earlier. The decline in housing lending continued in the first quarter of 2023, too.
The number of housing sales fell everywhere
The 13% drop in housing sales in 2022 hit the rural towns the hardest. In villages, the decline was in line with the national average, while there were 21% fewer housing sales in county towns and 18% fewer in smaller towns than in 2021. In Budapest, the number of transactions processed on a pro-rata basis was 5.4% lower than a year earlier, but the lower turnover in the capital has noticeably accelerated the processing of cases, so a slightly larger decline can be expected in the final turnover.
The shortened processing time may also be responsible for the fact that the number of processed transactions in Budapest in the first quarter of 2023 was only 7% lower than a year earlier.
The decline in the number of housing sales outside the capital accelerated during 2022 and in the first quarter of 2023. (The observation of rural data was not significantly affected by the change in the pace of receipt, so no significant correction in the extent of this is expected until the data are finalised.)
New housing market in the first quarter of 2023
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Only 400 of the approximately 2,300 homes built for sale have been reported up to present. Their average price is HUF 57 million, the same as the average for the previous period.
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In Budapest, the average price of a new dwelling increased by HUF 1.4 million to HUF 68.5 million.
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There has been no significant change in the price per square metre: the national average of HUF 965,000 and the average exceeding HUF 1.2 million in the capital are in line with the previous quarter.
Second-hand housing market in the first quarter of 2023
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The average price per square metre of a dwelling increased from HUF 409 thousand in 2022 to HUF 438 thousand. Housing prices in villages decreased in all regions. The rate was the lowest in Central Transdanubia (0.5%), while the strongest was in the villages of Southern Transdanubia (14%) and Northern Hungary (12%). In Pest county and in the regions of the Great Plain, the price decrease extended - beyond the villages - to the non-county towns.
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In Budapest, an apartment cost on average HUF 48.3 million, which is 600 thousand less than in 2022. In the capital city market, the price per square metre of housing was HUF 885,000, which is 5.1% more than in 2022. While the price per square metre of detached houses decreased (-5.9%), prices in multi-dwelling buildings continued to rise (5.3%).
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In the Budapest agglomeration, the average price per square metre decreased from HUF 610 thousand in 2022 to HUF 552 thousand.
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In the Balaton agglomeration, however, the price of housing has increased further, from HUF 624 thousand in 2022 to HUF 691 thousand. In 2021, the price level of the Budapest agglomeration still exceeded that of Balaton, but this trend was reversed in 2022, and this year the price advantage of Balaton properties has increased even further.
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Prices of detached houses fell in all regions of the country, but their rate remained below 2% in the Transdanubian region, while in the eastern regions of the country it reached 12% compared to the average for 2022.
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The strongest price increases occurred in the multi-dwelling buildings in Transdanubia, where apartment buildings in panel blocks have risen by 7.6% and non-panel multifamily buildings by 7.5% since 2022.
The average price decrease slowed down in EU Member States
In the first quarter of 2023, the aggregate EU-27 housing price index was 146% of the 2015 base, while the euro area house price index was 142%. Both indices decreased compared to the previous quarter (by 0.7% and 0.9% respectively), but the decline has slowed since the previous period.
In the first quarter of 2023
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Housing prices fell in numerous Member States compared with the previous quarter. The largest decrease was recorded in Luxembourg, where the index fell by 4.1% in a quarter, followed by Germany with a fall of 3.1%. In some countries, housing prices rose again after a previous decline, in countries including Hungary, Denmark and Cyprus, as well as Norway, which is not a Member State but co-operates with the data provision.
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Among the neighbouring countries, housing prices continued to rise slightly in Slovenia, while stagnating in Slovakia, and Romania and Austria saw prices fall.
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In the other V4 countries, housing prices did not rise: they fell slightly in Czechia and remained broadly stagnant in Poland.
Quarterly nominal housing price index in selected European countries
| Denomination | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | |
| Austria | 144.7 | 151.0 | 156.3 | 161.1 | 165.9 | 169.5 | 174.9 | 172.7 | 170.3 |
| Belgium | 123.5 | 125.7 | 129.4 | 129.6 | 131.5 | 133.2 | 136.3 | 135.8 | 137.8 |
| Bulgaria | 145.7 | 146.2 | 150.9 | 154.5 | 162.5 | 167.6 | 174.4 | 175.1 | 177.9 |
| Cyprus | 102.8 | 104.2 | 106.8 | 103.4 | 104.0 | 106.4 | 112.5 | 108.0 | 110.1 |
| Czechia | 168.9 | 177.6 | 189.8 | 200.6 | 210.0 | 217.2 | 219.4 | 214.5 | 212.2 |
| Denmark | 135.0 | 138.9 | 140.4 | 137.6 | 140.6 | 142.5 | 137.5 | 128.7 | 132.0 |
| Estonia | 144.9 | 148.7 | 153.7 | 163.8 | 175.4 | 189.4 | 190.9 | 191.4 | 191.4 |
| Finland | 108.6 | 111.2 | 110.9 | 111.1 | 112.2 | 113.8 | 112.4 | 108.5 | 106.6 |
| France | 120.2 | 122.1 | 126.1 | 127.5 | 128.6 | 130.8 | 134.3 | 133.7 | 132.3 |
| Netherlands | 153.3 | 159.5 | 168.8 | 175.2 | 183.0 | 188.3 | 189.3 | 184.5 | 182.7 |
| Croatia | 134.2 | 139.0 | 141.4 | 145.0 | 152.3 | 157.9 | 162.4 | 170.1 | 173.6 |
| Ireland | 138.3 | 141.7 | 148.8 | 155.1 | 159.1 | 161.9 | 166.5 | 168.4 | 167.1 |
| Poland | 141.2 | 145.5 | 149.3 | 155.2 | 160.3 | 163.5 | 167.4 | 169.6 | 169.5 |
| Latvia | 150.0 | 159.5 | 165.3 | 171.8 | 176.1 | 185.6 | 187.8 | 186.6 | 186.7 |
| Lithuania | 153.7 | 158.9 | 167.4 | 175.4 | 183.1 | 193.9 | 199.7 | 203.5 | 207.2 |
| Luxembourg | 167.2 | 168.7 | 173.2 | 179.5 | 184.3 | 188.4 | 192.3 | 189.4 | 181.5 |
| Hungary | 196.0 | 204.4 | 211.9 | 219.9 | 241.4 | 255.2 | 262.4 | 258.4 | 264.7 |
| Malta | 130.8 | 134.4 | 137.5 | 139.0 | 139.7 | 144.6 | 146.2 | 147.2 | 148.9 |
| Germany | 146.3 | 151.8 | 158.2 | 162.5 | 163.2 | 166.6 | 165.0 | 156.9 | 152.1 |
| Italy | 101.1 | 102.8 | 103.9 | 104.0 | 105.7 | 108.1 | 106.9 | 106.8 | 106.9 |
| Portugal | 161.7 | 166.4 | 171.3 | 176.0 | 182.6 | 188.3 | 193.8 | 195.9 | 198.6 |
| Romania | 131.5 | 133.6 | 133.8 | 137.5 | 139.8 | 144.9 | 143.2 | 146.8 | 146.3 |
| Spain | 128.1 | 131.2 | 133.9 | 135.6 | 139.1 | 141.7 | 144.2 | 143.0 | 144.0 |
| Sweden | 128.9 | 133.4 | 136.9 | 138.6 | 142.2 | 142.9 | 138.5 | 133.5 | 132.4 |
| Slovakia | 145.8 | 150.6 | 157.7 | 163.3 | 166.5 | 175.6 | 180.6 | 179.2 | 179.2 |
| Slovenia | 142.7 | 149.2 | 153.2 | 160.3 | 166.9 | 172.4 | 176.4 | 178.8 | 181.7 |
| EU27_2020 | 131.2 | 134.9 | 139.1 | 142.0 | 144.8 | 148.1 | 149.2 | 147.1 | 146.0 |
| Eurozone | 129.2 | 132.7 | 137.0 | 139.6 | 141.8 | 144.9 | 146.1 | 143.6 | 142.3 |
| Iceland | 166.3 | 175.0 | 180.9 | 188.1 | 196.1 | 211.2 | 224.5 | 227.6 | 227.0 |
| Norway | 134.2 | 138.5 | 139.5 | 138.5 | 144.6 | 147.7 | 147.9 | 142.6 | 147.0 |
Further data and information
Annual national data:
18.1.1.1. Summary data of housing
18.1.1.13. Housing price indices
18.1.1.14. Mean price per dwelling and sqm by region and building type
18.1.1.15. Number of housing transactions made by private persons
Annual regional data:
18.1.2.8. Mean price per dwelling by region and settlement type
18.1.2.9. Mean price per sqm by region and settlement type
18.1.2.10. Number of housing transactions made by private persons by region and settlement type
18.1.2.11. Mean price per dwelling by region and building type
18.1.2.12. Mean price per sqm by region and building type
Infra-annual national data:
18.2.1.1. Summary data of housing (quarterly data)
18.2.1.8. Housing price indices by quarter years
18.2.1.9. Number of housing transactions made by private persons by quarter years
Infra-annual regional data:
18.2.2.13. Mean price per dwelling by region and settlement type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.14. Mean price per sqm by region and settlement type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.15. Number of housing transactions made by private persons by region and settlement type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.16. Mean price per dwelling by region and building type (quarterly data)
18.2.2.17. Mean price per sqm by region and building type (quarterly data)
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