Moving can incur significant costs, not only in taxes to be paid to authorities, but also in posting advertisements, renovations, and the costs of sale. Hungarians therefore tend to avoid moving home as much as possible within less than five years, Erzsébet Hart, manager at real estate agency Balla Ingatlan, told Világgazdaság.

Customers usually plan 5-10 years ahead when buying a home. They sell in less than five years only if a very pressing situation arises and they have no other choice, Hart added.

Tamás Sebestyén, office manager at Balla Ingatlan, added that there are two main categories of customers: those who plan their purchase carefully, and those who “fall in love” with a home and do not care too much about other considerations.

A smaller group move because they realize that conditions are not as favorable as they expected. Many of these are people who moved to the suburbs, but after a few years try to move back closer to the city center. Usually the first home is a one-room flat, which is swapped for a larger one after 10 years, added Sebestyén.