Hungarian home prices are expected to increase by 8%-13% in 2026, while the number of residential property transactions could reach 118,000-125,000, according to the second-quarter Housing Market Outlook from the MBH Analysis Center.
New housing loan disbursements are forecast to exceed HUF 2.7 trillion this year, supported by rising real wages, lower inflation and declining interest rates. Inflation stood at 1.2% in July and gross wage growth is forecast at close to 9% this year.
New housing completions rise 22%
Hungary completed 6,278 new homes in H1 2026, up 22% year-on-year. The number of housing construction permits increased 30% to 16,588. MBH expects around 15,000 new homes to be completed during 2026, followed by as many as 20,000 in 2027.
Development activity is particularly strong in Budapest. At the end of the first quarter, projects comprising around 22,000 homes were either under construction or on sale, up 46% year-on-year. New housing supply in Budapest has reached its highest level in a decade.
Transactions forecast at up to 125,000
Around 147,000 residential property transactions were completed in Hungary in 2025. In the first half of 2026, 32,456 transactions were recorded, down 10% from the same period a year earlier.
According to the MNB housing price index, annual nominal price growth eased from 17.8% to 12.3% by Q2 2026, while prices declined 1.1% quarter-on-quarter. MBH expects nationwide price growth of 8%-13% this year, compared with 23.5% in 2025.
Housing loans rise almost 95%
New housing loan contracts reached HUF 1.578 trillion in H1 2026, up 94.8% year-on-year. MBH expects new housing lending to exceed HUF 2.7 trillion for the full year. The outstanding stock of housing loans is forecast to increase by 25%-28%.
Rental growth remains more moderate. According to the KSH-Ingatlan.com rent index, rents increased 5% nationwide and 5.5% in Budapest in July compared with a year earlier. Median monthly rent in Budapest reached HUF 260,000, while Debrecen remained the most expensive major city outside the capital.
