The quarter-on-quarter rise in Budapest slowed to 3.2% in Q3 from 4.7% in Q2. Prices rose in every region except for cities in North Hungary in Q3.

Home prices in cities outside of Budapest rose by an average 4% and prices in smaller settlements rose by 12% from the previous quarter.

This is opposed to the trend in previous quarters, when prices were driven by rises in Budapest.

After peaking shortly before the crisis of late 2007, home prices in Hungary fell in nominal terms until the beginning of 2014 and have risen since then.

Year-on-year, Q3 home prices were up 13.9% nationwide, rising 22.4% in Budapest, 10.7% in big cities, and 10.2% in small settlements.

In real terms, Q3 home prices were up 5.9% from the second quarter and rose 13.8%, similar to the nominal rise, from the corresponding period of 2015.

Home prices in real terms rose 3.4% in Budapest, 4.2% in big cities, and 12.2% in smaller settlements on a quarterly basis.

The MNB calculates its home price indices using tax office data on stamp duty obligations related to home loan transactions, supplemented by data from the Central Statistics Office (KSH) and from the national regional development information system.