Budapest and surrounding regions are set to experience a surge in demand for real estate as students receive their university acceptances and begin to rent sublets in the city.
As the time gets closer to the announcement of the university point limits when tens of thousands of students receive news of which city they will further their education in, the real estate market in Budapest, as well as areas surrounding the capital, are taken by storm. Empire BP Real Estate provides a city-by-city breakdown of average costs, student preferences so far, both categories compared to data from previous years.
"In rural cities, the rate of price increases exceeded that of Budapest again this year, and by a significant margin," Gergo Farkas, head of analysis division says.
Based on contracts concluded in the first six months of this year, the monthly rent for brick condominium apartments in Budapest is HUF 256,000, a 14% increase on last year's average. This general calculation can be further categorized based on apartment costs distributed in various districts of Budapest.
District Based Costs
Nora Nagy discussed the costs of apartments which vary district to district in the capital. She shared that on average, apartments in District IX cost HUF 230,000, HUF 240,000 in District XI, and HUF 200,000 in District VIII. More expensive apartments are found in District V for HUF 335,000, in District II for HUF 361,000, reaching costs as much as HUF 361,000 per month in District II.
According to the statement from Empire BP, “rent has increased in most districts (typically between 5-20%), however, in District III and VII, as well as in the majority of the outer districts of Pest, there were no significant changes.”
In addition to the location, the size of the property also significantly influences the decision students must make. In the capital, the average monthly rent for one-room apartments is HUF 157,000, while two-room apartments are asking for HUF 245,000, and three-room apartments average around HUF 340,000. The expert said that the bigger the rental apartment in Budapest, the more significant the ratio of area to price difference.
County Based Costs
Empire BP also looked at regions further from the capital, such as Székesfehérvár, Miskolc, and Debrecen.
Székesfehérvár is the most expensive rural county seat, where the average monthly rent is HUF 210,000. In Gyor and Pécs it costs HUF 170,000 to rent. Owners in Szeged, Miskolc and Debrecen are still asking HUF 140,000 for a month. In the mentioned cities, the renter must pay HUF 100,000 for one-room apartments, HUF 145,000 for two-room apartments, and HUF 215,000 for three-room apartments.
Throughout the country, panel apartments are the cheapest rental property. The average price of prefab apartments is HUF 176,000 in downtown Budapest, HUF 162,000 in Buda, HUF 148,000 in the outer districts of Pest, and HUF 110,000-120,000 in county seats, depending on the size of the settlement.