In September 2018, the increase in construction of buildings was due to industrial, commercial and residential projects, while civil engineering was driven by road, railway and utility construction.

Of the divisions of construction, output increased by 21.6% in the construction of buildings, by 45.4% in civil engineering, and by 17.3% in specialized construction activities.

In a month-on-month comparison, construction output fell 0.2% from August, adjusted for seasonal and working day effects.   

The volume of new contracts decreased by 34.0%, within which new contracts concluded for the construction of buildings fell by 9.3% year-on-year, and by 46.1% in civil engineering works.

The month-end stock of contracts at construction enterprises was 42.5% higher year-on-year at the end of September. The stock of contracts was 4.7% lower for the construction of buildings, but 58.4% higher for civil engineering works than in September 2017.

In January-September 2018, compared to the first three quarters of the previous year, construction output rose by 22.8%.

In absolute terms, output stood at HUF 375.3 billion in September, and HUF 2,235.8 bln in January-September 2018.

Within the divisions of construction in the third quarter of 2018, prices increased by 12.3% in the construction of buildings, by 7.3% in civil engineering, and by 10.0% in specialized construction activities, which carry the greatest weight, compared to the same period of the previous year.

Construction prices rose by 2.3% compared to the previous quarter.

László Koji, head of the National Federation of Hungarian Building Contractors (ÉVOSZ), said construction sector output is forecast to grow 20-22% this year, a higher rate than the earlier predicted 18%.

TakarékBank analyst András Horváth told state news agency MTI he projects construction sector output growth of around 22% for this year and somewhat above 15% in 2019.

Construction industry output figures for October 2018 will be published on December 14.