Across Hungary’s 25 cities with county rights, 293 residential development projects are currently underway, involving more than 7,300 homes. Although developer activity eased slightly compared with the beginning of the year, price growth continued.
The number of projects fell by 1.7% quarter-on-quarter, while the number of homes under development decreased by 4.3%. The average price of newly built homes rose to HUF 1.32 mln per sqm, up 4% over three months and 12.1% year-on-year.
“Demand remains strong in the market for newly built homes, while developers are facing increasingly high construction and financing costs. This duality explains why prices continue to rise despite the moderate decline in supply,” said Gábor Soóki-Tóth, head of analysis at Otthon Centrum.
Based on the geographical distribution of developments, Debrecen remains Hungary’s most active regional market for newly built homes. A total of 57 projects are currently underway in the Hajdú-Bihar county seat, well ahead of Szeged with 45 projects and Nyíregyháza with 27.
Győr, Székesfehérvár and Pécs follow in the ranking. Among smaller cities, Szombathely stands out with 14 active developments.
By contrast, Miskolc shows relatively limited activity among Hungary’s larger regional centers, with only eight developments. Békéscsaba and Esztergom are at the bottom of the list, with one small residential development each. There is still no active condominium housing construction in Dunaújváros or Salgótarján.
Debrecen also leads in terms of the number of homes under development, with more than 1,500 new units currently being built. Szeged ranks second with around 1,200 homes, while Győr is third with close to 800.
In terms of prices, Érd remains the most expensive city outside Budapest for newly built homes, with an average price of HUF 1.52 mln per sqm.
Szeged has moved into second place with an average of HUF 1.4 mln per sqm, followed by Sopron and Székesfehérvár, which are tied at HUF 1.39 mln per sqm.
“The price differences among the leading cities are becoming increasingly small. In most of the largest regional cities, buyers are already seeing prices of HUF 1.2 mln-HUF 1.4 mln per square meter, while differences between individual projects are increasingly determined by technical content, energy efficiency and the standard of available services,” Soóki-Tóth said.
According to the analyst, it is notable that the average price of newly built homes has now exceeded HUF 1 mln per sqm in almost every city with county rights.
Baja is the only exception, with a median price of HUF 948,000 per sqm, although this is already close to the HUF 1 mln threshold.
A total of 24 new projects were launched in the second quarter, involving the construction of 313 homes.
Sales have already started in 23 of these projects, covering 303 homes, while developers behind some investments have yet to enter the market.
Debrecen was again the most active city for new launches, with seven projects starting in a single quarter, further strengthening its leading position in Hungary’s regional newly built housing market.
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