It costs around HUF 41 million (EUR 104,320) to buy a livable 53-square-metre panel apartment in Budapest, but in the most popular residential areas, potential buyers can expect to pay even more, up to around HUF 1 million (EUR 2,540) per square metre, according to Duna House.

Following the moderation of prices seen last year, 2024 will bring another price rise for buyers looking for an apartment in Budapest. The renewed home creation subsidies and the decreasing housing loan interest rates have had a positive effect on the buying mood, so the average square metre price paid for a panel apartment in Budapest has risen by 9 per cent to HUF 765,000 (EUR 1,920) following the increased interest. In some areas, the price increase for an apartment in Budapest is 14 per cent, and prices in the range of millions of HUF per square metre are not unimaginable in the future.

After the easing of prices in the past year, 2024 will bring a price increase in the residential housing market in the capital, as renewed home-building subsidies and falling interest rates on housing loans have boosted demand, Telex reports.

“What was missing in 2023 has now been made up for in Budapest, as the average price per square metre of a panel apartment is 7 per cent higher this year than it was in 2022 when the price of a panel apartment was HUF 717,000 (EUR 1,824),” said Károly Benedikt, head of PR and analysis at Duna House.

The price of a panel apartment in Budapest

Of the 12 housing estates surveyed, Óbuda had the largest price decrease in 2023, and this year prices have increased the most here. While the average price per square metre in 2023 was 30% higher than in 2022, buyers can expect to pay HUF 880,000 (EUR 2,240) per square metre.

The average price per square metre is approaching HUF 1 million this year in District XI and in the Vizafogó residential area in District XIII. In the former, after a 12 per cent increase, the unit price has risen to HUF 941,000 (EUR 2,400), while in the latter, after a 16 per cent rise, the average amount spent on a property is HUF 936,000 (EUR 2,380) per square metre.

In 2024, apartments in the József Attila housing estate will be available at a slightly lower price of HUF 839,000 (EUR 2,130), a 16 per cent increase compared to last year. After an 8 per cent increase, the average price of panel apartments on Füredi Street is HUF 829,000 (EUR 2,110). In Újpest, the average price is slightly less, and in the Havanna housing estate, you can buy a flat for HUF 644,000 already. In Újpalota, the average price per square metre is HUF 663,000 (EUR 1,690), with almost a quarter of all panel transactions in the capital occurring here in the first half of this year.

In the better-known, larger housing estates, prices have risen even more than the capital’s average, with an average increase of 14 per cent in the price per square metre compared to last year. While in 2023, prices in five housing estates decreased by between 3-20 per cent, this year only the housing estate in Újpalota has seen a 5 per cent decrease.

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