In a statement issued for Property Development Day, Takács pointed to data compiled by property consultancy CBRE showing property investment volume in Hungary fell almost 17% to EUR 700 mln in Q1-Q3 from the same period a year earlier.

He noted that the market had expanded for five consecutive years until 2019, when investment volume reached EUR 1.8 bln, before the pandemic put a stop to growth. Last year, the market grew 20%, and outlooks were good, but the impetus has been broken, he added.

Earlier, industry insiders had expected property investment volume to reach EUR 1.5 bln-1.7 bln this year and next, he said. As fewer projects have been launched under the current circumstances, and projects started earlier are set to wind up in 2023, he augured a "lean year" for 2024.

CBRE data show 82,400 sqm of office space were inaugurated in the third quarter, bringing the total to 4,176,000 sqm.

Industrial property area reached 4.49 million sqm at the end of Q3 and included morethan 3 mln sqm in Budapest and environs. More than 200,000 sqm of industrial area is under construction and a further 453,000 sqm is in the planning stages.