A total of 8,709 new dwellings were completed during this period, highlighting shifting construction trends across the country.
In Budapest, 2,761 new dwellings were completed, marking a 15% decrease year-over-year. Similar drops were noted in other urban centers, with housing completions down 15% in county-ranked towns, 30% in smaller towns, and 16% in villages. Meanwhile, the Pest region’s output fell by 29%. Yet, the Southern Great Plain region bucked the trend, with completions rising by 16%, attributed to regional investment projects.
Rural towns saw marked construction activity, with Kecskemét standing out with over 300 new homes. Within Budapest, the District XI led completions, recording approximately 1,200 new dwellings.
The share of single-family homes rose slightly, as dwellings built by individuals increased to 40% of the total, up from 39% last year, while enterprise-led constructions dropped from 61% to 58%. Detached houses comprised 53% of new units, followed by multi-story buildings at 42% and residential complexes at 2.1%. The average floor area for new dwellings increased slightly to 99 square meters.
Permitting trends reveal mixed activity across regions. Nationally, construction permits for new dwellings decreased by 2.3% to 14,551 units compared to last year. In single-family housing, permits rose by 14%, while multi-family housing saw an 18% drop. Rural towns and villages saw increases in permits, with a 7.1% rise in county-ranked towns, a 15% rise in smaller towns, and a 20% increase in villages. Debrecen, Paks, and Győr saw particularly high levels of new permits.
In Budapest, housing starts were down sharply, with approved permits declining 34% to 3,391 units. While most districts issued fewer than 100 permits each, District X stood out, authorizing nearly 1,400 new units.
The report also showed that builders increasingly used the simplified declaration option, accounting for 54% of cases. Nationally, permits were issued for 7,173 new residential buildings, a 14% increase over the previous year, while permits for non-residential buildings totaled 2,659.
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