The value of actual leases grew 18% during the period. The number of leased assets fell 2% year-on-year in H1 2006.
The value of real estate leases jumped 120%, in part because of several big property developments. The average real estate lease was for Ft 167 million in H1 2006, up from Ft 131 million in H1 2005. The number of leases rose 77% to 268. The share of real estate leases in all lease financing rose to 10% in H1 2006.
The value of machinery and equipment leases rose 34% to Ft 67 billion, while the value of heavy commercial vehicle leases was up 16% at Ft 80.5 billion. The average value of these leases rose 13%-15%, with machinery and equipment leases averaging Ft 10 million apiece and heavy commercial vehicle leases each worth Ft 9 million. Machinery and equipment financing accounted for 12% of all leasing financing and the share of heavy commercial vehicle financing accounted for 15% in H1.
The value of car and light commercial vehicle leased rose just 1% to Ft 391 billion. Association members financed 142,766 vehicles in H1 2006, about 3% fewer than in H1 2005, with the value of the financing increasing 7%. These leases accounted for 61% of all leasing financing schemes in H1 2006, down from 67% in the same period a year earlier. Hungary’s car market has stagnated for the third year in a row, and the association expects it to contract in the coming 18 months. Within vehicle financing, retail leases for new vehicles accounted for 52% of the total, down one percentage point from H1 2005, used vehicle leases made up 39%, up one percentage point, and corporate fleet leases stagnated at 9%.
The Hungarian Leasing Association includes 43 companies among its members.