Hungary Property Guide
Like any other city, location is a key element to any property investment decision. We recommend purchasing apartments for long-term rental purposes within the central business district, the main central shopping area and near most of the universities. These Districts include I, II, III, XII (in Buda), V, VI, VII and XIII (in Pest) all of which are seeing dynamic growth and price performance. Furthermore, all of these areas are well serviced by tram, bus and the underground.
Quality
Most of the buildings in central Budapest date from the 19th century. Unfortunately, during the communist period there was almost no investment in the buildings and consequently the quality of apartment buildings varies widely. Some have been reconstructed however it is important to inspect the quality of this work. Almost all (non-renovated) Hungarian apartments are poorly laid out and would not be up to Western standards – making it very difficult to rent such a product. We advise that apartments be fully furnished to achieve the best rental returns.
Size matters....
We recommend the purchase of apartments from 50 – 110 square metres. Anything larger than this can be difficult to rent and the achievable yields will be lower than that of a smaller unit. The cost of furnishing a larger unit is also a factor. It is important to purchase an apartment that has been properly renovated to Western standards or alternatively to purchase an older style traditional apartment and have the work done by a professional architect, engineer and building contractor.