Government measures announced in recent weeks are set to reshape Hungary’s housing market in the coming months, with cheaper financing making new-build flats more attractive while a HUF 1.5 million per square metre price ceiling tightens supply further in Budapest, the OTP Ingatlanpont network said on Tuesday.
The cabinet has announced that the Otthon Start programme will end and be replaced by a narrower scheme, Wekerle Plusz, with a reduced circle of eligible buyers, Index reported. Under the new arrangement the 3% subsidised mortgage rate will apply only to newly built homes; for second-hand properties the rate rises to 5%, which is close to prevailing market levels.
New builds gain, the capital’s supply shrinks
OTP Ingatlanpont argues that the shift should stimulate construction of new flats, because the subsidy now points buyers towards them. At the same time, the HUF 1.5 million per square metre ceiling is becoming a bigger obstacle in Budapest, where prices in sought-after districts have moved past that threshold, effectively cutting the stock that qualifies for the cheapest loans.
Valkó Dávid, the network’s lead analyst, said the changes are likely to raise the share of new-build transactions and could push more buyers towards rural markets and smaller cities, where prices remain under the ceiling. The company’s assessment was sent to the state news agency MTI.
Why buyers should read the small print
The practical effect for a household is that the cheapest credit is now tied to a property type and a price band, not simply to the buyer. A family that would have qualified under Otthon Start may not qualify under Wekerle Plusz, and a buyer looking in inner Budapest may find the properties they can afford are the ones the scheme excludes.
The Daily Lens has not verified the scheme’s final parameters, which have been reported from government announcements and the OTP analysis rather than from published legislation. Details of eligibility thresholds and the start date should be confirmed against the official decree before anyone makes a decision on them.
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