On average, appartement rental fees decreased in August by 6.4% in Hungary compared to one year earlier. While Budapest underwent an average decline of 10.2%, according to the rental pricing index of the Statistical Office (KSH) and property site Ingatlan.com.
Average apartment rental fees in Budapest at the end of September amounted to HUF 140,000 (EUR 389). It was back in 2017 (and earlier) when prices were this low.
Inner Budapest districts saw an even harsher decline of 12.7%. At the end of September, the average rental fee in the 5th district, one of the most expensive Budapest districts, amounted to HUF 180,000 (EUR 500). In the 13th district, it was 140,000 forints, while the 23rd district proved to be the cheapest at HUF 100,000 (EUR 278).
According to Ingatlan.com’s senior economic expert, the 5th, 6th, and 7th districts were the most expensive ones in recent years and a fall from the higher price level is usually greater. László Balogh also argued that one of the main factors in the decline was that the number of apartments available for rent per thousand people was by far the highest in these parts, a tendency which favors the tenants.
He also said that in general, the rental market at the moment is characterized by uncertainty due to the pandemic, thereby resulting in owners increasingly forced to lower their fees. According to the latest data, the decline seems to be lasting, but due to the difficult-to-predict outlook, it remains to be seen how long this process will last.
featured image illustration by László Róka/MTVA
