Last year, the rental prices for centrally located flats in Budapest increased by 17 per cent compared to 2022, placing the Hungarian capital in the mid-range among EU capitals, just behind Madrid and Zagreb, according to Duna House’s review of the Eurostat study on the relative living costs in European cities.
The survey examined the rental prices of housing typically used by expatriates. These are not representative of regular rental prices but of well-maintained, well-equipped, centrally located flats, either built or significantly modernized in the past ten years. The surveyed Budapest flats are three-room units, with rental data collected from districts I, II, III, XI, and XII on the Buda side and districts V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and XIII on the Pest side. Duna House supported the survey with data from Hungary.
Head of Marketing and PR at Duna House Károly Benedikt highlighted in the statement that rental prices for the surveyed flats increased the most in Hungary compared to other EU capitals, following Zagreb (20 per cent) and Sofia (20 per cent). Despite this,
Budapest remains in the mid-range for all examined property categories.
Due to Brexit, Dublin has become the most expensive EU capital, replacing London, with rental prices for these flat types being double of those in Budapest, based on 2023 data.
Among neighbouring capitals, rental costs increased last year by 13 per cent in Ljubljana, 11 per cent in Vienna, 10 per cent in Bucharest, and 7 per cent in Bratislava compared to 2022, with other cities seeing increases between 2–15 per cent. Within the EU, a slight decrease of 1 per cent was observed in Helsinki, while a more significant 13 per cent drop occurred in Lithuania, the expert added.
The survey indicates that in the Central European region Budapest’s city centre is the most expensive after Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Ljubljana. More favourable rental prices can be found in Bratislava, Warsaw, and Bucharest. One-bedroom flats in Brussels are 10 per cent more expensive than those in Budapest, with an average rent of 980 euros, but for larger, three-bedroom properties, renters save 100 euros in the Hungarian capital. The most expensive cities are Dublin, Luxembourg, and Paris, while Sofia offers the cheapest rentals, according to Duna House.
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