Property 9 February 2026, 11:48am

According to recent data from ingatlan.com, demand for houses for sale in the capital city increased by 21% year-on-year within the market for newly built residential properties in the first six weeks of this year. Alongside a 28% increase in county towns and a 16% increase in smaller towns, demand for new houses in villages has increased by more than 40%. This can be explained by lower land prices, which make new houses cheaper overall compared to those in larger cities. Overall, demand for new apartments and houses in the first six weeks of this year was

75% higher than at the start of 2023 and 26% higher than at the start of 2024, but 8% lower than last year.

"The government’s latest announcement came at this market juncture, harmonising condominium construction rights with interest-subsidised loans, including the CSOK Plus loan with an interest rate of 3%, and the Home Start Programme. The new condominium construction rights rules, which will come into force on 1 March 2026, will enable buyers to obtain credit even for apartments purchased 'from blueprints'. This is important because loans can now be disbursed in stages in line with the construction stage, and the buyer's registered rights provide security and collateral for banks," said László Balogh, chief economic expert at ingatlan.com.

According to the expert, the change in regulations will increase buyer security and could fundamentally reshape the financing environment. Since buyers can take out a mortgage with the same bank financing the developer's construction project, developers' bargaining position when selecting project loans could improve significantly.

With the phased disbursement of buyers' home loans, investors can pay less interest. This is because the buyers' money is placed in an escrow account until the apartment is handed over. The interest paid on this deposit can reduce the interest payable on the loan by the investor. Increasing competition and cheaper financing could lead to a reduction in the price per square metre of new homes, as development costs would be lower. Ultimately, new home buyers would benefit from this.

This process may also boost the construction of detached and semi-detached houses further, as the Home Start Programme can be seen as a favourable construction loan. Since the HSP was announced in July, the monthly number of building permits issued for detached houses has remained stable at over 700, representing dynamic growth compared to the previous period. As these projects typically take 12 to 18 months to complete, a more significant increase in the number of detached houses built is expected by the end of 2026.

If first-time buyers and those moving to a new home flood the new-build market, this could shorten the chain of moves and reduce demand for second-hand properties. "As the prices of new and used homes in large cities have become more similar, more and more buyers are considering purchasing newly built properties. However, if someone moves from an existing property to a newly built one, the seller of the existing property will no longer be able to finance their move from the purchase price of the new property. This phenomenon could lead to a correction in the used property market. This correction may not necessarily take the form of falling prices, but rather a significant slowdown or stagnation in price increases from the end of the first quarter onwards.”

From this perspective, 2026 could indeed be the year of buyers in the housing market,

said László Balogh.

According to ingatlan.com's expert, the strong demand for newly built apartments and houses is also due to an increase in supply. A year ago, buyers could choose from only 6,600 new properties, a figure which has now grown to nearly 8,900. This increase in supply also means that there are more affordable new apartments in Budapest and other major cities, mainly due to the HUF 1.5 million per square metre price cap of the Home Start Programme.

Cover image (for illustration purposes only): Getty Images