Budapest’s office vacancy rate increased to 13.1% in the third quarter of 2026, as weaker leasing activity and additional supply weighed on the market, according to the Budapest Research Forum (BRF).
Total quarterly demand reached 92,380 square metres, down 9% year-on-year, while net take-up across the first nine months fell 35% to 104,940 square metres. The vacancy rate increased by 0.9 percentage points from the previous quarter, although it remained 0.4 percentage points below its level a year earlier.
Budapest’s modern office stock exceeds 4.5 million sqm
The completion of Centerpoint III in the Váci Corridor added 36,000 square metres of modern office space during the quarter. An additional owner-occupied building was also transferred to the speculative office stock.
Budapest’s total modern office inventory reached 4,503,035 square metres, comprising 3,516,265 square metres of speculative offices and 986,770 square metres of owner-occupied space. Class A buildings accounted for 67% of the speculative stock, while Class B properties represented the remaining 33%.
Vacancy rates continued to vary significantly across the city’s office districts. Central Buda recorded the lowest rate at 7.8%, followed by North Buda at 9.2%. The Periphery submarket remained the weakest in terms of occupancy, with a vacancy rate of 20.4%.
Corrected net absorption, which measures the change in occupied office space after adjusting for changes in stock, was negative at 5,305 square metres during the quarter. Nevertheless, cumulative absorption for the first nine months of 2026 remained positive at approximately 37,000 square metres.
Lease renewals account for nearly half of quarterly demand
Total leasing demand increased 9% quarter-on-quarter to 92,380 square metres, but remained 9% below the corresponding period of 2025. Renewals represented 49% of quarterly demand, while new leases accounted for 32%. Expansions contributed 10%, and pre-leases represented the remaining 9%, supported by a major agreement signed by KPMG.
Net take-up, which excludes renewals and owner-occupied transactions, reached 47,300 square metres. This was 22% lower than in the third quarter of 2025, although it represented a 48% increase from the previous quarter.
The Váci Corridor remained Budapest’s most active office district, accounting for 42% of quarterly leasing demand, followed by Central Pest with 20%.
BRF recorded 101 lease transactions during the quarter, 10% fewer than a year earlier. The average transaction size remained unchanged at 915 square metres. The two largest transactions were lease renewals exceeding 10,000 square metres each, one in the Váci Corridor and another in Central Pest. KPMG’s pre-lease of more than 8,000 square metres ranked third, while two additional new leases exceeded 6,000 square metres each.
Nine-month demand declines as companies prioritise existing offices
During the first nine months of 2026, total office leasing demand in Budapest reached 307,425 square metres, a 2% decline compared with the same period of 2025. Net take-up, however, fell 35% to 104,940 square metres, indicating a substantially sharper contraction in transactions involving newly occupied space than in overall leasing activity.
* The Budapest Research Forum brings together CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, ESTON International, iO Partners and Robertson Hungary.
